It was only five years ago that Algoma Steel was on the brink of bankruptcy and looking for ways to get its books out of the red.
Business
SAULT STE. MARIE
It was only five years ago that Algoma Steel was on the brink of bankruptcy and looking for ways to get its books out of the red.
After nine months of court-supervised restructuring in January 2002, Algoma Steel Inc. has banked its 14th consecutive three-month profitable quarter and has more plans it hopes to cash in on.
The plan includes a proposed sale in June, expected to be passed, by a subsidiary of India-based Essar Global Ltd. in a cash buyout valued at $1.85 billion.
The 106-year-old steelmaker has provided its wide-ranging products to various industries, including the construction sector, throughout its existence, said Brenda Stenta, corporate communications officer with Algoma Steel.
The construction sector is currently responsible for about 15 per cent of its annual sales for various products out of its shapes and profiles operation, including welded-wide flange, sheets, plates and coils.
Stenta said that while the company continues to seek larger annual sales, there are currently no plans to increase its production.
Currently, there are no Canadian steel manufacturers in the business of making construction steel but Algoma banks on its plate products to work their way into the construction and manufacturing sectors.
The sprawling plant’s Direct Strip Production Complex (DSPC) is responsible for most of the strip products used in the construction industry, including sheet steel used for hollow structural sections and energy section tubes, Stenta said.
The DSPC has garnered a reputation second-to-none for producing lightweight steel.
Steel is becoming more versatile in a number of industries because it’s longer lasting, strong, lightweight, energy efficient, and recyclable.
“Even recycling steel has a value to it,” Stenta said.
Steel products purchased from Algoma Steel are used for a number of items in the construction industry including industrial shelving, fencing, sewers, bridges, and guard rails, among other things.
Many of those items also find their way into construction industry projects, she said.
“The market has been strong and we continue to pursue this market and other markets,” Stenta said.
ASI’s marketing team searches for every opportunity to sell its wares. Supplying steel to be used in the manufacturing industry has also been pursued by the steelmaker.
Car manufacturers, such as Ford and General Motors, uses ASI’s products in their manufacturing process, primarily high-strength, low-alloy steel.
Algoma Steel’s reputation for superior heat-treated plate continues to be top end throughout North America as the company has filled requests from the U.S. military for armour plating on its rear-line convoy vehicles in Iraq.
ASI has the capacity to produce up to 150,000 tons of value-added plate annually.
Hot rolled coils in Algoma Steel's Direct Strip Production Complex.
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