Steel Summit: Burritt says USS and Nippon are fast-tracking modern steelmaking

The USS brand character trait of grit, Burritt said, wasn’t enough to make the 124-year-old-steel-behemoth flourish in the year 2025.  

“Grit has to meet opportunity. And opportunity is exactly what we’re seizing right now,” Burritt said.  

The decade-plus USS executive then zeroed in on the ways its partnership with Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel is leading modernization in multiple USS facilities.  

“American resilience and ingenuity joined with Japanese precision, scale, and technological leadership… .” said Burritt.  

He continued, “Picture this: predicative maintenance that prevents downstream before it happens; safety systems so smart they won’t let you take one step onto the floor without the right gear; and analytics so sharp, they squeeze perfection from every heat, every roll, every ton.” 

The CEO said that plans for USS facilities aren’t limited to its Big River mills. Big River facilities in Osceola, Ark., have an annual raw steel capacity of ~3.3 million short tons (st).  

When the partnership agreement between USS and Nippon was in negotiations with the United Steelworkers (USW) labor union, the union cited its concerns about the company divesting from its integrated mills in favor of its Big River facilities.  

Burritt identified the investments USS and Nippon are making in both types of mills. He stated the multitude of upgrades the organization is making across its facilities.  

“We have a solid and strategic obligation to invest $14 billion into USS facilities, including $11 billion by the end of 2028,” stated Burritt.  

He then drew a card from his suit coat pocket with a list of what he dubbed the USS’ “main thing.” 

“The main thing is to deliver our $14-billion capital commitment on time, on budget, and by the book that means honoring our fiduciary duty to the US government and Nippon Steel while living our code of conduct … we eliminate distractions, fast-track permits, mobilize talent, and build world class assets,” he asserted.  

Burritt announced plans to invest $1 billion in an innovative Mon Valley hot strip mill in Pennsylvania. He noted that the relining project at Gary’s blast furnace in Indiana was underway.  

The speech ended with Burritt’s unequivocal declaration that USS is entering its next chapter with more American grit than ever before.  

“We’re not outsourcing the future. We’re building it, right here, with American hands and global excellence… . This isn’t a sunset story. This is a sunrise,” he said.  

The partnership between USS and Nippon officially closed in June 2025.