Improvements will reduce emissions while also allowing the company to make new, innovative products.
U.S. Steel was the world’s first billion dollar corporation — and now the company is investing more than $1 billion to transform its hometown steelmaking complex into what CEO Dave Burritt says will be “the most innovative steel mill in the United States of America.”
Located just outside Pittsburgh, Mon Valley Works is an integrated operation of several different facilities, and U.S. Steel is aiming to increase its efficiency while also significantly reducing its emissions. The upgrades will allow Mon Valley Works to churn out the type of high-strength, lightweight-yet-flexible steel sought after by the auto, appliance and construction industries.
A new cogeneration facility will be built at the Clairton Plant in Clairton, Pa., which will allow the company to convert a portion of coke oven gas into electricity to power operations throughout the entire Mon Valley Works. At the Edgar Thomson Plant in nearby Braddock, the company will build a new sustainable endless casting and rolling facility, the first of its kind in the United States and one of only a handful in the world.
The 3,000 current employees at Mon Valley Works will have the chance to receive training to operate the upgraded facility, and U.S. Steel plans to “partner with educators in our community” to train the next generation of steelworkers for advanced manufacturing jobs. Meanwhile, the company expects to see a big decrease in its carbon footprint because of the improvements, including a 60 percent drop in particulate matter, a 50 percent decrease of sulfur dioxide and an 80 percent drop of nitrogen oxides.
U.S. Steel is among several domestic producers who are investing in U.S. operations following the implementation of “Section 232” tariffs on steel imports in 2018.
The company restarted two blast furnaces at its Granite City Works facility outside St. Louis, Mo., creating 800 jobs; is restarting operations in Lone Star, Texas, supporting 140 jobs; and is resuming construction of an electric arc furnace in Fairfield, Ala., creating 600 construction jobs and 150 new jobs once things are up and running. It also will spend $750 million in Indiana at its Gary Works facility.
But Burritt described the Mon Valley Works investment as “a truly transformational investment” for U.S. Steel.
“This is great for our customers and also positions the community here for a very bright future for generations to come,” Burritt told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “This is where steel started, and this is where steel continues.”