Steel Mills
Goncalves, Granholm tout domestic steelmaking at Cliffs' Butler Works
Written by Ethan Bernard
April 23, 2024
Cleveland-Cliffs’ chief Lourenco Goncalves and US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm stressed the importance of the American steel industry and domestic manufacturing at Cliffs’ Butler Works in Pennsylvania on Monday.
“We’ve seen what happens when we let our supply chains move overseas,” Granholm said during an event that gathered company, union, and government officials.
“The Department of Energy is awarding $75 million to decarbonize the production of grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES), making our steel among the lowest emissions in the world,” Granholm stated.
She said that President Biden’s commitment to the US steel industry is why he called for a tripling of tariffs on Chinese steel last week.
Earlier this month, DOE finalized congressionally mandated energy-efficiency standards for transformers. Cliffs said at the time the rule will provide for the continued use of GOES in virtually all of Cliffs’ current distribution transformer end markets. Cliffs’ Butler facility produces stainless and electrical carbon steel.
“So proud to be standing here and be able to say, ‘Butler Works, you’re going to stay in business,'” Granholm said.
Likewise, Goncalves, Cliffs’ chair, president, and CEO, emphasized the importance of American manufacturing.
“We’d like to continue to generate jobs. We’d like to continue to generate more and more strengths in manufacturing in America. And then we will be back being the envy of the world,” Goncalves said.
He also spoke of an upcoming shortage of transformers due to high demand.
“As far as I know, there’s a shortage of transformers right now,” he said, noting that demand will spike as more government infrastructure money is rolled out.
Also present at the event were US Reps. Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.) and Mike Kelly (R-Pa.); Jamie Sychak, president of United Auto Workers Local 3303; Daniel Vicente, director of UAW Region 9; and Kevin Boozel, Butler County Commissioner.
Ethan Bernard
Read more from Ethan BernardLatest in Steel Mills
USW seeks clarity on plans for Granite City Works
The United Steelworkers union has asked U.S. Steel to elaborate on its Granite City Works plans following reports that the steelmaker is ending processing at the facility.
Nucor maintains plate prices, opens October order book
Nucor aims to keep plate prices flat for a seventh straight month with the opening of its October order book.
ArcelorMittal Mexico to import from sister mills as it works to resume DRI production
ArcelorMittal has partially restarted operations at its direct reduction plant in Lazaro Cardenas, Michoacan. An explosion on Aug. 18 rocked the massive steelworks on Mexico’s Pacific coast, impacting production of direct-reduced iron (DRI).
Fall maintenance outages are coming in hot
Labor Day has passed, the sun is starting to set a little earlier each day, and cooler weather has begun to find its way down to many of us across North America. And you know what that means for the steel industry… Fall maintenance outages!
AISI: Domestic steel production ticks up
US raw steel production ticked up in the week ending on Sept. 6 after a decrease the week before, according to the most recent data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).