• Skip to main content

    Company Announcements

    October 23, 2026

    BlueScope names interim North America leader as Keast departs

    Written by David Schollaert

    BlueScope has announced interim leadership for its North American operations ahead of the departure of Kristie Keast.

    Keast will leave the company at the end of October after serving as chief executive of North America since February 2023, the company said.

    David Schollaert

    David Schollaert is deputy editor-in-chief for Steel Market Update. David joined SMU after more than a decade in the metals and mining industry in a myriad of different roles. Much of his early experience and expertise were within the coverage and analysis of steel-making raw materials and served previously as senior editor of the CRU Prices Service. Most recently, however, before his return to market analysis, David held roles as a metals buyer and an operations manager for raw material suppliers. He can be contacted at david@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-720-1008.

    Read more from David Schollaert

    Latest in Company Announcements

    USS confirms nearly $3B for new Mon Valley HSM, targets 2029 production

    U.S. Steel’s board of directors has approved a nearly $3 billion investment in a new hot strip mill (HSM) at the Edgar Thomson Plant, part of the Mon Valley Works outside Pittsburgh. The project confirms Nippon Steel's commitment to modernize the Mon Valley HSM, a pledge made before and after its acquisition of U.S. Steel. It is part of Nippon's broader $14 billion capital investment plan for the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker's facilities.

    Reliance posts big Q3 profit on high prices, border-wall demand

    Reliance Inc. posted a third-quarter profit more than double that of a year ago on record quarterly sales. The stellar result came thanks to higher steel prices and a jump in tons sold. A government contract for the US border wall with Mexico drove a significant portion of those gains, the company said. And the Phoenix-based service center chain, North America’s largest, predicted that profits would continue to surge in the fourth quarter despite concerns about steel availability and geopolitical instability.

    Canada, Ontario commit billions to steel and automotive industries

    The Canadian federal government and the Ontario provincial government have announced five-year commitments totaling CA$5.22 billion (US$3.72 billion) for a Joint Steel Action Fund. That funding comes alongside up to an additional CA$2.5 billion over two years for large-scale automotive capital projects. The federal and provincial governments said the package is intended to support domestic steel production, automotive manufacturing, and the transition to connected and electric vehicles.

    Alro opens new plant in Florida to better serve Orlando market

    Alro Steel has opened a new, 245,000-square foot facility in Oviedo, Fla., a suburb of Orlando, Fla. The Jackson, Mich.-based service center said the new location would allow it to better serve the Orlando market. The company said the new facility will allow its original location in Orlando, established in 1982, to focus on plate processing. The Oviedo location “significantly increases Alro’s local inventory and processing capacity, providing customers with greater product availability, expanded processing options, and faster shipments,” Alro said in a press release posted earlier this week.