Scrap Industry News

Ohio Foundry to Close

Citation Corp., Birmingham, Ala., has announced that it will close its Mansfield, Ohio, ductile iron foundry in late April or early May.

The plant’s site has operated as a foundry for 80 years. Under Citation Corp., it operated as Mansfield Foundry Corp., while prior to that it was known as Ohio Brass Co.

Plant general manager Bob Heilman cited the current recession in the manufacturing sector and the Mansfield plant’s inability to operate profitably at reduced production levels as reasons for the decision to close.

The Mansfield foundry melted ferrous scrap and includes a covered ferrous scrap sorting facility and a scrap pre-heater on its premises. According to Heilman, the plant melted “2,400 tons per month before the recent downturn set in,” and more recently was melting 1,600 tons of scrap per month.

The ductile iron foundry melted prompt stamping plant scrap with tight chemistry restrictions, says Heilman.

The facility was founded as Ohio Brass in 1921, and became an employee-owned facility in 1984. Three years later, Ohio Brass went through bankruptcy proceedings, and the facility was shuttered for a time in the early 1990s.

Citation Corp. re-opened the facility as a ductile iron foundry after purchasing it in 1994. Citation Corp., which was publicly traded at the time, merged into privately held equity investor Kelso & Co., New York, in December of 1999.

Citation Corp. continues to operate more than 15 iron, steel and aluminum foundries in nine other states.

Steelmakers Lose Trade Case

American steel mills hoping to fend off imports and regain market share were disappointed in a trade commission decision handed down in late February.

The World Trade Organization (WTO), Geneva, Switzerland, has ruled that the U.S. government did not have grounds to increase duties on Japanese steel imports

Those increased duties have been in effect since June of 1999, along with duties imposed against steel imported from Russia and Brazil.

The Japanese lodged a complaint with the WTO in regard to the duties, claiming in part that the U.S. Department of Commerce did not consider information provided by Japanese steelmakers in defense of their pricing and exporting methods.

The lifting of the duties will not be welcome by U.S. steel companies and unions who lobbied for their enactment on the grounds that the foreign steelmakers were “dumping” steel at below market prices

But the WTO ruling, which according to the Associated Press runs at more than 700 pages, orders the U.S. government to “bring its measures into conformity” with international trade rules. The order does mean the U.S. must immediately lift the extra duties, but rather gives the Commerce Department 60 days to appeal the WTO decision.

The U.S. has 60 days to appeal.

In a separate but related ruling, the WTO has also cited the U.S. 1916 Anti-Dumping Act as illegal. That act is still used by American steel companies to invoke increased duties and tariffs, and became the subject of a complaint by the European Union and Japan.

Specifically, punishments connected to the 1916 law (including imprisonment and fines for companies and their officers) were cited as illegal in international law cases.

For troubled American steel mills hoping to raise their prices, increase their melt schedules and take back market share lost to imports, the decisions provide a setback.

Metal Management Merges Pa. Operations

Metal Management Inc., Chicago, has announced the integration of its Riverside, Pa., and Elizabeth, Pa., operations into one division, to be known as Metal Management Pittsburgh. Both locations will remain open but operate as one division, buying, processing and selling both ferrous and nonferrous metals. Previously, each location operated independently of the other.

This move eliminates management positions and administrative costs, according to the company. Contract services will be eliminated and moved in-house. Buying and selling operations as well as transportation arrangements for truck, rail and barge will be centralized, steps seen as integral in advancing Metal Management’s efforts to emerge from its Chapter 11 reorganization.

Nick Katsafanas will be vice president of Metal Management Pittsburgh with full trading responsibility. Most recently he was manager of the Riverside location.

Metal Management Inc. has also announced the promotion of Alan Ratner to president of Metal Management Northeast, Newark, N.J. He succeeds Andy Naporano. Ratner has served as senior vice president of Metal Management Northeast for the past two years.

Naporano will remain with the company and work on corporate projects to expand the company’s service offerings and account base.