Steel Mills

Goncalves, Granholm tout domestic steelmaking at Cliffs' Butler Works

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

Ethan Bernard is managing editor for Steel Market Update. He previously worked for American Metal Market as a copy editor in the New York office for two years, starting in 2008. Later, he copy edited AMM’s monthly magazine on a freelance basis from 2015 until 2017. With experience in financial copywriting and textbook publishing, he holds a BA in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley, and an MFA. in Creative Writing from New York University. He can be reached at ethan@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7871.