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AK Steel

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AK Steel Corporation
Company typePublic (NYSE: AKS)
IndustrySteel
Founded1899 (as The American Rolling Mill Company - Armco)
HeadquartersUnited States West Chester, OH
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
James L. Wainscott
(Chairman), (President) & (CEO)
ProductsSteel products
RevenueIncrease US$ 7.003 billion (2007)
Increase US$ 624.40 million (2007)
Increase US$ 387.70 million (2007)
Total assetsDecrease US$ 5.197 billion (2007)
Total equityIncrease US$ 874.70 million (2007)
Number of employees
6,200 (2010)
SubsidiariesAK Tube LLC
Websitewww.aksteel.com

AK Steel Corporation is an American steel company whose predecessor, Armco, was founded in 1899 in Middletown, Ohio. Today, the company's corporate headquarters is situated in West Chester, Ohio, (a suburb of Cincinnati) after having moved from Middletown, Ohio, in August 2007.[1]

Operations

Products

AK Steel production facility in Mansfield, Ohio.
An Armco culvert in an irrigation canal.

AK Steel's main products are carbon, stainless and electrical steels, cold rolled and aluminium coated stainless steel for automakers.

One of Armco's best-known products may be the crash barriers installed around many auto-racing tracks, particularly in Formula One. These barriers are commonly called "Armco".

Another product is bent corrugated steel panels that can be bolted together to make culverts. These are known as "Armco culverts".

Facilities

The company has production facilities in a number of American cities including:

Management

The current CEO at AK Steel Holding is James L Wainscott.

Environmental record

The Political Economy Research Institute ranks AK Steel 14th among corporations emitting airborne pollutants in the United States. The ranking is based on the quantity (0.27 million pounds in 2005) and toxicity of the emissions.[2] The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued an Emergency Order pursuant to the Safe Drinking Water Act to AK Steel's Butler Works located in Butler, Pennsylvania concerning the nitrate/nitrite compounds being released into the Connoquenessing Creek, an occasional water source for the Borough of Zelenople on June 27, 2000.[3] They had violated the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act and that it had failed to properly dispose of hexavalent chromium waste in Butler.[4] In 2004 the EPA and the Justice Department announced that AK Steel Holding settled their alleged environmental violations at their steel mill in Butler, Pennsylvania.[5] AK Steel Holding agreed to a $1.2 million settlement, which consists of a $300,000 penalty and $900,000 in projects intended to reduce smog-producing ozone in Pennsylvania.[5] In 2006, AK Steel reached an estimated $12,000,000 settlement to compensate for PCB contamination in Middletown, Ohio.[6]

Middletown Works lockout

Armco and the Armco Employees Independent Federation (AEIF; an employee labor union) had a collective bargaining agreement in place in 2004. As part of the agreement there was a stipulation that said AK Steel must employ 3,114 workers, a "minimum base force guarantee". There was also the authority for AK Steel to suspend the minimum number. On January 13, 2004, AK Steel informed the AEIF that it was suspending the minimum. The union then filed a grievance contesting the suspension. An arbitrator upheld the decision by AK Steel on July 1, 2004, subject to certain limitations, through at least May 10, 2005. The union sought and was granted a new hiring, and on July 1, 2005 the arbitrator issued a comprise total workforce. As part of the agreement the arbitrator allowed AK Steel to set aside financial payments to a fund, in lieu of hiring to the minimum, the amount of which was set by the arbitrator on October 7, 2005. On September 29, 2005, the AEIF filed a lawsuit against AK Steel in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio (AEIF v. AK Steel Corp.; Case No. 1:05-CV-639), in which the AEIF sought to vacate that portion of the July 1, 2005 Award. AK Steel answered the complaint and filed counterclaims (AK Steel Corp. v. AEIF, Case No. 1:05-CV-531) on November 2, 2005.[7][8]


On March 1, 2006, AK Steel began a lockout of around 2700, workers, at their Middletown Works plant, in Middletown, Ohio.[9][10]

This lockout was the longest labor stalemate in the 105-year history of the Middletown Works.[11] The previous longest stalemate was a six-day company lockout in 1986.[12][13]

By the next day, the mill was operated by 1,800 salaried and temporary replacement workers. In late October, AK offered a "final" contract, which was rejected by the union at a vote of 2 to 1.[14] One year after the lockout started, on February 28, 2007, AK Steel reached a labor deal with the labor union,[15][16] The lockout was over when the union members ratified the proposed contract on March 14, 2007.[17][18] As part of the agreement the AEIF and AK Steel reached a joint settlement of their five total counter lawsuits, with AK Steel paying $7,702,301. A third of the amount was for profit sharing, a third for an assistance fund for employee benefits of employees not recalled to work, and a third an escrow account to settle employee disputes and claims as a result of the lockout.[8]

AK Steel replaces Countrywide in S&P 500 Index

Following the close of trading on June 30, 2008, AK Steel was added to Standard & Poor's 500 Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) Steel Sub-Industry index. The S&P 500 is a widely known and utilized indicator of the U.S. equities market.[19][20]

See also

References

  1. ^ Press Release: "AK Steel completes corporate headquarters move". - Armco. - August 29, 2007
  2. ^ Political Economy Research Institute - Toxic 100
  3. ^ AKS Annual Report (Regulation S-K, item 405) (10-K405) Item 1. Business - AK Steel Holding Corporation
  4. ^ Environmental Protection Agency
  5. ^ a b "AK Steel Settles Lawsuit Over Environmental Violations at Butler Mill - Steelmaker to Pay $300,000 Penalty and $900,000 in Pollution Reduction Projects to Settle Hazardous Waste, Air and Water Pollution Violations" - Newsroom - U.S. EPA]
  6. ^ Environmental Protection Agency
  7. ^ 1Q 2007. - AK Steel Holding Corporation. - May 7, 2007. - (Adobe Acrobat *.PDF document). - | Environmental and Legal Contingencies p.13 | Retrieved: 2008-06-10
  8. ^ a b "Settlement Agreement". - International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. - (Adobe Acrobat *.PDF document). - Retrieved: 2008-06-10
  9. ^ Gnau, Thomas. - "AK Steel locks out Union". - Cox News Service. - The Middletown Journal. - March 01, 2006. - Retrieved: 2008-06-10
  10. ^ 1Q 2006. - AK Steel Holding Corporation. - May 4, 2006. - (Adobe Acrobat *.PDF document). - | Environmental and Legal Contingencies p.11 | Results of Operations p.17 | Outlook p.18 | Retrieved: 2008-06-10
  11. ^ Gnau, Thomas. - "Day 7 brings no resolution". - Cox News Service. - The Middletown Journal. - March 08, 2006. - Retrieved: 2008-06-10
  12. ^ Rick McCrabb, Rick. - "Veteran AK workers fear someone's going to get hurt inside plant". - Cox News Service. - The Middletown Journal. - March 02, 2006. - Retrieved: 2008-06-10
  13. ^ Rick McCrabb, Rick. - "Timeline of the AK Steel lockout". - Cox News Service. - The Middletown Journal. - October 19, 2006. - Retrieved: 2008-06-10
  14. ^ Union: "Workers At AK Steel Reject Contract Offer". - WHIO-TV. - October 19, 2006.
  15. ^ "AK Steel Reaches Tentative Labor Deal". - Associated Press. - (c.o Topix.net)
  16. ^ Press Release: "AK Steel and IAM Reach Tentative Contract Agreement For Middletown Works". - AK Steel Holding Corporation. - February 28, 2007. - Retrieved: 2008-06-10
  17. ^ AK Steel boss projects long-term profitability. - The Middletown Journal. - May 25, 2007
  18. ^ Press Release: "IAM Members Overwhelmingly Ratify New-Era Labor Accord For AK Steel’s Middletown Works". - AK Steel Holding Corporation. - March 14, 2007. - Retrieved: 2008-06-10
  19. ^ [1]. - Pittsburgh Business Times. - June 30, 2008
  20. ^ [2]. - PR Newswire - First Call. - June 30, 2008
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