Tuesday, October 11, 2011
A dispute over a $125 million payment has Severstal and new Sparrows Point owners RG Steel in court.
Months after RG Steel finalized the purchase of the historic Sparrows Point steel mill, previous owner Severstal is suing over a $125 million cash payment. Forbes, citing a filing in U.S. District Court, reported Friday that RG Steel is trying to cut the $125 million cash payment to $1.9 million. Forbes reported that the Severstal suit argues that the $125 million payment "is subject to final adjustments involving debt and working capital, but alleges that RG Steel is trying to adjust the price using impermissible changes in accounting procedures." The suit also says that adjustments claimed by RG Steel remain "outside the scope of arbitration agreed to in the deal," according to Forbes. Follow Dundalk Patch for updates, local stories, …
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Recent federal court ruling is seen as win for Severstal, former Sparrows Point mill owners, and possible boost for RG Steel.
In a little-noted court decision with potentially long-term local consequences, a federal judge has ruled that Severstal Sparrows Point LLC is not liable for the pollution that occurred at the Point before the bankruptcy court approved the sale of the former Bethlehem Steel Corp. plant to the Russian-owned steelmaker. The U.S. District Court did require Severstal to undertake a sediment study of offshore pollution in the immediate area around the Sparrows Point plant, so the former owner of Sparrows Point may not be completely off the hook. The decision was signed by United States District Court for the District of Maryland Judge J. Frederick Motz on July 5. "...EPA and MDE interpreted the agreement based upon the assumption that Severstal…
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Official discuss the need for environmental remediation before dredging facility can go into operation. A decision is expected by the end of the year.
Maryland Port Administration and Maryland Department of the Environment officials met Edgemere-area residents to discuss a recent environmental assessment report last week, part of a proposal to turn Coke Point into a harbor dredging facility. A decision to go ahead with developing the site as a dredging facility is expected to be made by the end of the year. Frank L. Hamons, deputy director for Harbor Development, told the two-dozen local residents gathered at Edgemere Elementary Wednesday that Coke Point-area sediment and surface water offshore was contaminated with lead, zinc, benzene, PCBs and hydrocarbons. The metal and chemical pollutants trace back to the earlier steelmaking efforts at the nearby Sparrows Point mill. The new study “…
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Almost three weeks after the pending sale of Sparrows Point to the Renco Group was announced, 250 steelworkers are expected to have returned to work by the beginning of April.
Recently recalled United Steelworker union members began the first of three days of safey workshops at the Sparrows Point mill on Monday morning to prepare for the restart of the plant's primary operations—including the "L" blast furnace. After completing the three-day general safety workshops, workers are scheduled to move to their specific departments for further safety and production training. “The company is still putting the plans together regarding how they are going to recall workers, but they foresee calling everyone back,” said John Cirri, president of United Steelworkers Local 9477. “From about three weeks ago [when the first workers began returning] and through the next two weeks ahead, probably 250 people will be back at work…
Thursday, March 3, 2011
John Cirri, president of United Steelworkers Local 9477, said plans to restart “L” furnace and begin making steel at Sparrows Point have not materialized yet, but he’s hopeful.
The Renco Group, Inc. announced Wednesday morning that its newly formed subsidiary, RG Steel, LLC, has signed a stock purchase agreement to acquire the Sparrows Point steel mill and two other U.S. steel plants previously owned by Severstal North America. The agreement calls for RG Steel to purchase all of the stock of Severstal Sparrows Point, LLC; Severstal Warren, LLC, of Ohio; Severstal Wheeling, Inc.; and Wheeling Corrugating Company of West Virginia, according to a press statement released by Renco this morning. The transaction, estimated at $1.2 billion, will make RG Steel the fourth-largest flat rolled steel producer in the United States. The Renco Group also announced that RG Steel will be headquartered at Sparrows Point. Final …
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Location of Renco Group subsidiary headquarters at Sparrows Point viewed as positive sign, as well as company’s access to raw materials.
Local and state officials were ecstatic Wednesday morning at the news that the landmark steel mill at Sparrows Point had been sold by Russian-owned Severstal North America to The Renco Group, a New York-based investment company with assets reportedly of the $5 billion. Optimistic that the “L” blast furnace at the plant, idled since early fall, would soon be fired up again, local and state leaders also believe that the location of the new owners' headquarters at Sparrows Point bodes well for the future of steelmaking operations there. “I think the sale brings renewed hope,” said Councilman John Olszewski, Sr, chairman of the Baltimore County Council, whose district includes Sparrows Point. “Finally someone with a good track record, a …
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Russian steelmaker’s capital investment budget sets aside $465 million for operations in North America, but doesn’t include plants for sale.
OAO Severstal, the parent company of Severstal North America, which owns the Sparrows Point steel mill, announced a $2 billion capital investment budget this week, but none of the funding will be coming to its Baltimore County operation. One of the largest integrated steel and mining companies in the world, the Russian-owned OAO Severstal announced that the total investment at Severstal North America will be approximately $465 million in 2011. That figures marks a 53 percent increase over 2010. However, according to a press release, Severstal North America’s capital investment funding will bypass its mills up for sale – at Sparrows Point, Warren, Ohio and Wheeling, WVa. The Renco Group, a New York-based investment company, is currently in …
Friday, February 25, 2011
John Cirri, president of United Steelworkers Local 9477, said the Renco Group, a New York-based holding company, remains in talks to purchase the steel mill at Sparrows Point.
A New York holding company that reportedly has signed a letter of intent to buy the Severstal-owned steel mill at Sparrows Point has met United Steelworkers union conditions to complete the purchase, a union leader said. The company, the Renco Group, is controlled by Ira Rennert, whose net worth was listed at $5.3 billion last year by Forbes magazine. In separate interviews, Severstal and Renco have previously told Patch.com they will neither confirm nor deny talks or Baltimore Brew accounts, citing unnamed sources saying Renco signed the letter of intent a month ago. In an e-mail Wednesday, John Cirri, president of United Steelworkers Local 9477, explained the union has successorship language in its basic labor agreement, stating …
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
John Cirri, president of Local 9477 of the United Steelworkers, remains hopeful the Sparrows Point mill will soon be sold and steel-making operations restarted.
The president of the local United Steelworkers union said he remained hopeful the Sparrows Point mill would soon be sold and steel-making operations restarted. But the union official, John Cirri, president of Local 9477 of the United Steelworkers, dismissed previous reports that Russian-owned Severstal North America would sell its operations to Ternium, the Argentinean-based steel manufacturer with operations in Mexico, Colombia, Guatemala and the United States. “The Argentineans were here for a day last month to look around, and they left,” Cirri said at an information fair Thursday for laid-off steelworkers at Sparrows Point. “That was it.” Cirri added, however, that as far as he knew, Severstal does remain in talks with one or two other…
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Giant steelmaker Ternium won't comment on reported bid, officials’ tour of mill
Argentine steel-making giant Ternium has joined three other bidders seeking to buy the idled Sparrows Point mill, a Baltimore news website reports. The Baltimore Brew, citing unnamed sources, reported the Ternium bid comes less than a month after Sparrows Point owner Severstal's announcement that it would extend idling of primary operations through March, leaving 800 union workers without jobs. As the United Steelworkers Union presses Severstal to sell the facility by the end of the year, the company's CEO, Alexei Mordashov, isn't satisfied with the other three offers, the Brew's Mark Reutter reported. Reutter has reported and written extensively on Sparrows Point and is the author of Making Steel: Sparrows Point and the Rise and Ruin …
Buzz Beeler
8:11 pm on Tuesday, October 11, 2011
I talked to some of the recent retired foreman down there and they weren't so optimistic in the overall picture. Apparently there was some business deals under the Severstal ownership that went awry and that is impacting pending new orders. On the flip side, I have heard there are new orders for the next six months. I think time and the economy will tell the true story on the fate of the new … more ›