Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Written by Michael Cowden
August 17, 2023
I am happy to announce that there are officially now more than 1,400 people attending SMU Steel Summit next week in Atlanta. That’s a new record for us, and I thank all of you for making it possible.
I am also happy to say that Barry Zekelman, executive chairman and CEO of Zekelman Industries, will be joining us for the first fireside chat of Steel Summit on Monday, Aug. 21, at 3:40 pm ET.
Zekelman is head of one of the largest independent steel pipe and tube companies in North Americas. As such, he is also one of the region’s biggest sheet buyers.
He will share his take on current events in steel, his deep knowledge of the industry, and his own unique journey in steel. I’m looking forward to our discussion.
Unfortunately, I must also announce that Cleveland-Cliffs has said that company chairman, president, and CEO Lourenco Goncalves will be unable to attend Steel Summit this year. Like you, I did not expect this last-minute change.
Cliffs told me the difficult decision was necessary because of sensitivities related to its bid for U.S. Steel. Recall that U.S. Steel announced on Sunday, Aug. 13, that it was considering a sale of all or part of the company.
I have as a result had to make several other changes to the agenda. Barry Zekelman, as noted above, will be doing the first fireside chat on Monday.
Also, Daniel Needham, executive vice president, commercial, at Nucor, will be doing a fireside chat with me on Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 22, from 3:45-4:30 pm – where Zekelman was originally slated to speak. In other words, we’ll still have a very full day on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, we also have a strong lineup – including panels with leading service center executives, logistics experts, and a talk from Dr. Alan Beaulieu, president and principal of ITR Economics. Beaulieu also happens to be one of our most popular speakers.
We’ll wrap up in the conference hall with Final Thoughts from me at 12:30 pm. You’re then welcome to join us for a closing lunch and networking in the exhibition hall.
You can see the latest agenda on our website here. You can also keep tabs of it on the 2023 Steel Summit app – the same one you’ll use to participate in polls, to ask questions, and to network.
I should in addition note that we now have more than 550 companies attending Steel Summit this year. Below is a list of those that have registered recently. Those with an asterisk next to their name are sending more than one person.
Atlantic Industries Limited
Bailey Metal Processing
Bailey Metal Products Ltd
Blue Bird Corporation*
C.A.T. Global
Caribbean Steel Trading LLC
Citi Bank*
Combined Metal Industries*
D&B Processing LLC
Davidson Kempner
Dienes Corporation
Duferco Steel LLC
EverGreen Industries, Inc.
Fabricators & Manufacturers Association, International*
Grupo Collado S.A. De C.V.*
Hatch Stamping
Husteel USA, INC.
Intellitrans
JLG
Kent Corporation
KH Management and Consulting Corp.
Lane Steel
Metal Products of Alabama*
MW Metals Group
Pacific Metals Trading, Inc.*
POLSTAL Spółka Jawna M.Słabosz, A.Krawiec*
POSCO America Corporation*
Posco International America Corporation*
Salamonie Steel Inc
Sanwa Pty Ltd
Schaeffler Automotive Bühl GmbH & Co. KG
Sooner Pipe
StaalX LLC
Stonebriar Commercial Finance
Taconic Capital
Talent Solvers
Three D Metals*
Trachte USA
Ultra Energy – Furnace Parts
UNICOIL
In short, the entire steel industry will be at the Georgia International Convention Center from Aug. 21-23. If you haven’t registered yet, it’s not too late – you can do so here.
I’ll be heading off to Atlanta soon myself. In the meantime, thanks from all of us at SMU to all of you for your valuable time and your business.
Michael Cowden
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