Analysis
June 15, 2025
Final Thoughts
Written by Stephanie Ritenbaugh
Growing up in Pittsburgh, I was surrounded by the steel industry.
There was the familiar sight of the U.S. Steel building (the tallest in downtown Pittsburgh) towering over the city skyline. I lived just a few blocks away from Allegheny Ludlum – now ATI’s specialty rolled products – and regularly passed by giants like U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thomson Works or Cleveland-Cliffs’ Butler Works.
Heck, our humble, hometown amusement park, Kennywood, has views of Edgar Thomson from the roller coasters.
It’s a town where if your family has been here for more than a generation, you have at least one relative who has worked at a plant or had a job because of a plant.
But the Steel 101 training in Memphis June 10-11 was the first time I was able to see an electric-arc furnace in person. Sure, I had seen photos and videos, but that’s nothing compared to seeing the process up close in real life.
I joined nearly 50 workshop attendees for an exclusive tour of Nucor Steel Arkansas in Blytheville, Ark.
It may be called a mini-mill, but don’t let the quaint name fool you. It’s an enormous, technologically advanced facility. Operations started in 1992 and have expanded significantly since that time, with Nucor recently adding a specialty cold mill complex and a galvanizing line.
As one of the Steel 101 instructors, Roger Walburn, described, steelmaking basically requires a manmade volcano.
The description felt spot on as I watched the ladle metallurgical process: A huge cauldron slowly ferried blazing molten steel, and slag flowed away in a fiery stream to be reused in asphalt and other products.
You felt the heat on your face, and the sweat roll down your back.
Every employee we encountered talked with pride about their jobs and readily answered our questions. Seeing the process from that vantage point makes you appreciate the hard work that goes into the infrastructure and products we use every day.
Huge thank you to Nucor for hosting us.
In the classroom
But Steel 101 is more than the tour. It’s also two days of immersive classes covering the entire life-cycle of steel – from raw materials to end markets and indexing. The course is geared toward industry veterans who want a refresher on different aspects of the market. It’s also great for newbies in areas like sales, procurement, and marketing who want to dive into all things steel.
Another big thanks to our outstanding instructors: Roger Walburn, Chuck McDaniels, Mario Briccetti, and Chris Shipp. They possess a wealth of knowledge and a clear passion for sharing it. Thank you for helping craft a valuable and engaging course.
It’s a lot to cover, but they managed to pack a short ton of information into those two days. Everything from the basics on EAFs and a blast furnaces to different grades of steel and steel pricing.
There also were many networking opportunities where attendees could chat, get to know each other, and exchange contact information.
Coming up
SMU regularly puts together training events. and we have some more coming up.
Our next Steel 101 Workshop will be Oct. 14-15 in Davenport, Iowa. We’ll also tour SSAB Americas’ steel mill in Montpelier, Iowa. You can find more information and register here.
Hope to see you at one soon!
