AISTech 2005 Review:

AISTech 2005 Review:The Iron & Steel Technology Conference and Exposition

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he Association for Iron & Steel Technology’ssecond major conference and exposition inless than eight months proved AIST and thesteel industry as victors. Key steel producers,suppliers, corporate executives and leaders,AIST members, exhibitors and academia came

together for a successful turnaround on May 9–12 inCharlotte, N.C., for AISTech 2005 — The Iron & SteelTechnology Conference and Exposition and ICS 2005 —The 3rd International Congress on the Science andTechnology of Steelmaking. With the backdrop of theCharlotte Convention Center, the global steel industryparticipants who exceeded 3,600 parted from AIST’sfour-day event with a promise made good to leavesmarter, better equipped to move forward, and bettermotivated to generate new ideas and promote continu-ous improvement in the industry. Daniel R. DiMicco,vice chairman, president and chief executive officer ofCharlotte-based Nucor Corp., called 2004 a “blowoutyear,” a description that could also apply to AISTech2005. North America’s largest full-line steel convention,which will now be an annual spring event, included 330technical presentations and 251 exhibits from bothdomestic and international companies.

AIST Foundation Golf ClassicAISTech 2005 kicked off with the AIST Foundation GolfClassic on Sunday, May 8 at Charlotte’s Highland Creek

Golf Club, an 18-hole championship course. The chal-lenging layout of the area’s best course made for anenjoyable tournament with the bonus of picture-perfectweather and a generous outcome of $19,000 for theAIST Foundation. Many golfers left happy on Sundayevening, including players in the winning foursome.Three of the foursome are pictured below right, fromleft to right: Jim Brooks, Superbolt; Ted Leczo, AISTFoundation past president; Bob McCurdy, Suberbolt;and Mike Farley, Injection Alloys. Missing from thephoto: Bernard Schiefer, MECC-USA.

Exhibit Hall, Technical Sessions and ICSAISTech 2005 surpassed the impressive figures of theprevious exposition, with a 15 percent increase in par-ticipating exhibitors and a 16 percent jump in squarefootage of the show floor area, which sported a livelyNASCAR theme. The conference program, developedby Operating Committee members from iron and steelproducers, suppliers and academia, focused on allaspects of ironmaking, steelmaking, finishing process-es and equipment technologies The technical confer-ence saw a 50 percent increase in sessions (includingICS) and generated a 25 percent increase in registrants

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AIST Foundation Golf Classic

by Joann Cantrell, Editor, Iron & Steel Technology

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compared to 2004. Registrants of ICS 2005 — The 3rdInternational Congress on the Science and Technologyof Steelmaking — were afforded full reciprocity with theAISTech conference, providing a tremendous opportu-nity for the dissemination of global steel technology.The ICS program also included a banquet onWednesday, May 11 in the Grand Ballroom of the OmniCharlotte Hotel. Jean-Pierre Birat, manager of ArcelorResearch, was the keynote speaker, with a presentationentitled, “The Greening of Steel: The Blast Furnace inthe Garden.” Papers presented during the technical ses-sions were made available to conference attendees andare available through AIST in the form of a softboundset of proceedings or CD-ROM. (For more information,see the AIST publications on pages 100–101 or visitwww.SteelLibrary.com.)

Howe Memorial LectureDr. Gordon A. Irons of McMaster University present-ed the 2005 Howe Memorial Lecture, “Developments inElectric Arc Furnace Steelmaking,” on Monday, May 9.The Howe Memorial Lecture was established in 1923 tohonor Henry Marion Howe, and each year a lecturer isselected in recognition of outstanding individual con-tributions to the science and practice of iron and steelmetallurgy or metallography. This year, Dr. Irons dis-

cussed the generational progress and developments inEAF steelmaking as well as projections on where suchdevelopments will take the industry.

Town Hall ForumA panel of leading industry executives participated inthe Town Hall Forum moderated by John D.Callaway on Tuesday, May 10. The candid dialogueon industry issues, concerns and opportunities wasopen to AISTech conference attendees who also hadthe opportunity to submit questions to panelists thatincluded Keith E. Busse, president and chief execu-tive officer, Steel Dynamics Inc.; Phillip E. Casey,chairman of the board and chief executive officer,Gerdau Ameristeel; I Michael Coslov, chairman andchief executive officer, Tube City IMS Corp.; Daniel R.DiMicco, vice chairman, president and chief executiveofficer, Nucor Corp.; Donald A. Pether, president andchief executive officer, Dofasco Inc.; Clyde P. Selig,president and chief executive officer, CMC SteelGroup; and John P. Surma Jr., president and chiefexecutive officer, U. S. Steel Corp.

Moderator John Callaway began the forum in searchof a concise headline on the current state of the steelindustry, and Michael Coslov responded with “American

Howe Memorial Lecture

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Steel Is Back,” immediately generating nods of agree-ment from the other panelists. How to maintain the win-ning streak in the U.S., industry consolidation, safety inthe mills, transportation, and the recruitment of womenand minorities were hot topics among the executiveswho took part in the two-and-a-half-hour discussion.

Coslov told the Town Hall audience exceeding 1,200that the surviving companies in the industry are happyto see consolidation, the management that’s in placenow as well as the resources. “It’s much easier to sell tosomeone when you know you are going to get paid,”he said.

“Consolidation on our suppliers’ side has been veryimportant,” said Donald Pether. “Our customers areextremely large, with needs for research and develop-ment of new products, so there’s an issue of being com-petitive for an availability of raw materials and havingthe technical capability of providing new products tocustomers. That ties in with the sustainability issue.Obviously, with size, there’s an improvement in terms ofsustainability. A new wave of consolidation may foster amodel that may be different from what we’ve seen overthe last few years, and that’s yet to play out.”

“2004 was really a blowout year, and it will be fol-lowed by another strong year,” said Nucor’s DanielDiMicco. “It’s much easier to be responsible when youhave a healty industry. When people are trying to sur-vive, you have a different behavior, and what we sawseveral years ago was an industry that was very sick,where there were a large number of players who wereworking just to survive. Consolidation is driving us inthe direction where we can become a healthier industry

both domestically and globally, and have the money todo the things we know need to be done to have a long-term, sustainable industry.”

There may be more consolidation on the horizon, yetat a slower pace. Keith Busse said that the industry isunder better management than it had been historically.“I think consolidation has mattered greatly, and I thinkyou’ll see consolidation continue.”

Busse sees more opportunity for greenfield opera-tions in North America, noting that U.S. steel productionis around 105 million tons annually, with demand atnearly 130 million tons. That shortfall opens the door formore operations. “We hit a home run in 2004, but pros-perity is sustainable. We’re no longer having to live withthe desperate acts of dying men or the companies thatbelieve the next 100,000 tons they sell will be their sal-vation. We’re probably not likely to see the highs wesaw in 2004, nor are we likely to see the bottom that wereached in 2003.”

Callaway asked the group how the industry han-dles its prosperity to shape the business for years

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to come. “We made acquisitions of about 400 mil-lion,” said Phillip Casey. “And with that comes thestewardship responsibility of raising the standards,not only of the hard assets, but of the talent pool aswell. One of the lasting investments we made wasto focus on training, recruiting, development andcreating a growth platform with our infrastructure,hopefully making us able to participate in continuedconsolidation.” Casey also indicated that the indus-try is at a crossroads and the next few years willredefine the future of the steel industry in NorthAmerica.

As the discussion moved on, Callaway’s straight-for-ward question, “How are you doing on safety?” prompt-ed passionate and firm responses from several panelists.

“The way we measure our safety performance is atrend that is moving in the right direction, yet havingeven one serious accident, or even worse, one fatality,is a crushing defeat,” said U. S. Steel’s John Surma. “Ourview of safety is an important company virtue that wehave wrapped our value system around. Since 1907,safety has been a key pillar of that value system. We’ve

reworked our compensation system to have short-termincentives based on the prevention of injuries. We willbe putting a financial reward behind that as one of thekey determinants. All the analysis says that the safestcompanies are the best operators, the most reliable, theones with the best financial returns over the long term,and the most cost-effective. For me, that’s an easy thingto wrap our company’s value system around because it’sthe right thing. To be the best company, we’re not goingto be where we have to be if we’re not there on safety.”

Clyde Selig reflected on some personal advice thatwas passed on to him many years ago. He remembereda quote that he encourages others to heed: “Asking meto overlook a simple safety violation is like asking me tochange my entire attitude toward your life.”

Town Hall Forum Panelists

Keith E. Busse Phillip E. Casey I Michael Coslov Daniel R. DiMicco Donald A. Pether Clyde P. Selig John P. Surma Jr.Steel Dynamics Inc. Gerdau Ameristeel Tube City IMS Corp. Nucor Corp. Dofasco Inc. CMC Steel Group U. S. Steel Corp.

Town Hall Question-and-Answer Session

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Selig explained that each and every industryemployee has that responsibility and can preventfatalities that can happen in the plants. SMI’s SouthCarolina plant developed the ORO Program —Others Reminding Others — a concept that warnsthat every individual is responsible to correct asafety violation and not look the other way.

During the Town Hall question-and-answer ses-sion, AISTech 2005 Conference PlanningCommittee Chair, Harriet Dutka (pictured on page22, bottom right), manager of the Timken FaircrestPlant in Canton, Ohio, reproached the industry forfailing to reach out to women as a potential sourceof new talent. The producers agreed that a con-certed effort has to be made not only to bringwomen into the predominately middle-aged, whitemale steel fraternity, but to attract other minoritiesand young technical professionals as well.

Donald Pether spoke of Dofasco’s mentoringprogram for all new employees and added that thecompany is also working with universities to pro-

mote the opportunities that the steel industry hasto offer. He also encouraged producers to takeadvantage of the change in the technically savvygeneration. “These young people have been com-puter literate since the age of seven. Those are theskills we need. In the last decade, we have notalways done what was required to be exemplifiedas a quality employer, and we now have to showpeople how that is changing.”

Surma agreed. “We have not availed ourselvesfully, and we want to do more to welcome morepeople of diverse backgrounds to steel.” Surmasaid that U. S. Steel plans to hire approximately 240people into management positions, accounting for8 percent of the company’s work force.

When a member of the audience asked what uni-versities could do to recruit young talent and stu-dents to the steel industry, Coslov eagerly replied,“Invite us to your schools. We have one thing tooffer and that’s opportunity. We can help by tellingour new steel story.”

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AISTech 2005

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In another discussion, the Town Hall panel ofsteel executives expressed their frustration withleaders of the North American railroads. Whileconsolidation has been good for the domestic steelindustry, it clearly has not been good for the rail-roads, with not only a shortage of cars, but seriousproblems in terms of the ability in delivering steelproducts in a way that’s sufficient. Busse warned ofthe dangers of oligopolies and said the issue isanother lobbying interest that the steel industry hasto make on its own behalf.

DiMicco’s candid assessment of the crisis depict-ed a serious issue affecting any industry that movesproducts by rail or truck. “They (the railroads) arenot helping the domestic manufacturer, and theydid not build for the future, despite making a com-mitment to service their customers. They havewoefully under-invested in their infrastructurewhether by track cars, locomotives or people. Weall strive for the maximum efficiencies in our oper-ations to minimize cost, and this hurts our abilityto compete efficiently in the marketplace. If we

lose those efficiencies because we can’t get theproduct to our customers when they need it, itbuilds inefficiency into the whole delivery chain —from the time that we’re bringing scrap into ourplant, to the time that we’re shipping our productand it arrives to our customers. Those inefficien-cies mean dollars and cost, and they hurt.”

Coslov pointed out that the outgrowth is dys-functional economics, creating artificial shortagesand an artificial chain of events.

As a solution, Casey suggested a focus on marinefreight, noting that an old law still in effect hindersmarine shipping. Legislative action could allowmarine freight to be more conducive to the move-ment of products such as steel.

To conclude the Town Hall Forum, JohnCallaway asked Phil Casey what messagehe would give to someone wanting to jointhe steel industry who was concerned about aculture clash. Casey replied, “Every young,

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dynamic graduate coming out of college wants todo something meaningful in their life, and thisindustry gives you the opportunity to do that, tochange the old dynamics. We need more females,more minorities, and we have to recruit globally. Ifwe don’t do that, if we don’t bring the steel indus-try into the 21st century, then it will disappear inNorth America.” Surma also acknowledged a gen-der gap and reiterated a need for technical leaders.

President’s Award BreakfastThomas C. Graham Jr. played host to more than 800attendees at the President’s Award Breakfast onWednesday, May 11 in the Charlotte ConventionCenter Ballroom. President Graham noted that thestrength of AIST was evident with the sold-outattendance, making it easy to forget the difficulttimes and industry turmoil that forced consolidationnot only in the steel sector, but also for the twopredecessor organizations that merged to formAIST. In the 18 months since the creation of theorganization, AIST benefitted from recent robustmarkets in the industry and impeccable timing.

“In 2004, AIST conducted 10 training coursesaveraging 101 attendees, with 65 percent of thoseattendees representing more than 50 steel produc-ing companies,” Graham said. “In 2005, our threetraining courses to date have averaged 150 atten-dees, representing an even higher level of supportfor the organization’s products and services. Thesemajor conferences, along with publications,Operating Committees, Specialty Conferences andchapter events, are all products targeted at helpingthe industry accomplish technical collaboration.”

Offering a testimony to the value of attendingAISTech, Graham encouraged support for AISTmembers from their employers and told the crowd,“I can honestly say that in my years in the steelindustry, I have never come back from an industrymeeting without something that helped my com-pany. Being informed is an absolute prerequisite tosuccess in the industry.”

At the President’s Award Breakfast, Keith E.Busse received the Steelmaker of the Year Award.AIST lauded the president and chief executive offi-cer of Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) for his entrepre-neurial spirit, distinguished leadership and excep-tional contributions to the steel industry. In partic-ular, Busse was recognized for his pioneeringefforts in the commercial implementation of thin-slab casting technology and in the innovative cre-ation of SDI.

Busse accepted his award on behalf of the 1,700people at Steel Dynamics by saying: “The adven-tures that I’ve had the opportunity to live areextraordinary. The creation of thin-slab casting andparticipation in thin-slab casting with others duringmy time at Nucor and Steel Dynamics would nothave been possible without my affiliation withsome extraordinary people. I would like to men-tion a few of those people — first and foremost,Ken Iverson, whom I believe to be the greatestman to grace the steel industry in the past 100years, or at least one of the greatest pioneers sincethe days of Andrew Carnegie. And the creation ofSteel Dynamics certainly would not be possiblewithout my friendship and affiliation with two

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engineers by the names of Dick Teets and MarkMillet. People have asked me what the greatestaccomplishment in my career was, and I tell themit is the creation of 1,700 new jobs for 1,700 peo-ple who believe in the future of this industry.Beyond a shadow of a doubt, that is my greatestreward.”

AIST also recognized John E.R. Holditch,retired from Dofasco Inc., and Thomas J. Usher,chairman of U. S. Steel Corp., with AISTDistinguished Member and Fellow Awards for theirrespective outstanding contributions, dedication,and service to the iron and steel industry. AISThonored Henri R. Gaye with the John F. ElliottLectureship Award and Gordon A. Irons with theHowe Memorial Lecture Award.

A keynote address by Malay Mukherjee, chiefoperating officer of Mittal Steel, followed the AISTAwards presentations. In his address, Mukherjeediscussed how the steel industry must consolidate,since it still lags other industries in this regard.Mukherjee said that Mittal Steel foresees a timewhere there will be five major steel companies,each capable of an annual production of 100 mil-lion tons. Mittal is also looking with interest to theopportunities in China, home to 2,700 small steelproducers, as well as Brazil, Russia and India.

In a follow-up press conference, Mukherjee wasasked about specific targets for acquisition. “Weare definitely looking at all opportunities,” saidMukherjee in a lighthearted tone. “But we don’trefer to the opportunities as targets. When we dothat, they cease to be targets.”

(A complete transcript of Mr. Mukherjee’saddress, “Steel in the 21st Century: Creating anAttractive and Sustainable Industry,” and a reviewof the 2005 AIST Association-level Awards, werepublished in the July issue of Iron & SteelTechnology. For reprints, contact AIST customerservice at (724) 776-6040, ext. 1.)

Gerdau Ameristeel Plant TourGerdau Ameristeel’s Charlotte, N.C., mill served asthe host plant for AISTech 2005. More than 80conference attendees traveled by chartered busesand participated in two separate sold-out tours ofthe minimill outside Charlotte on Monday, May 9and Thursday, May 12. Meltshop superintendentLance Rosenberger (pictured on page 26) waspresented with a plaque from AIST in appreciationfor hosting the two-hour guided tour, whichincluded the Consteel® EAF, the 3-strand billetcasting machine and the 15-stand continuousrolling mill. Tour participants were divided intosmall groups, and each person received a much-appreciated set of headphones to hear the guidesgive detailed and thorough descriptions of the millequipment and processes. Guides also answered

“I leave here today with a great sensethat AIST is a very live, vibrant and

active organization.”— Thomas J. Usher, chairman of the board, U. S. Steel Corp.

ICS 2005

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questions from participants along the route and fol-lowing the tour.

Gerdau Ameristeel is the fourth largest overallsteel company and the second largest minimill steelproducer in North America, with a capacity to pro-duce more than 8.4 million tons annually of millfinished steel products. Gerdau Ameristeel’sCharlotte mill is a long products producer of rebar,merchant and structural shape products with anannual melting capacity of approximately 450,000tons. The plant employs more than 250 people.

AIST Expresses GratitudeThe AIST board of directors would like to extendspecial thanks to Harriet Dutka, ConferencePlanning Committee Chair; Roderick Guthrie, ICSAdvisory Board Chair; Alan Cramb and MihaielaIsac, ICS Advisory Board Co-Chairs; GeorgeKoenig of Berry Metal, session chair for the Town

Hall Forum; John Ferriola of Nucor Steel, AISTFoundation Golf Committee Chair; and all AISTmember volunteers, authors and exhibiting compa-nies who were involved in planning a successfulevent.

Plan Now for AISTech 2006 in ClevelandAISTech 2006 — steel’s premier technology eventfor 2006 — will be held at the ClevelandConvention Center, Cleveland, Ohio, May 1–4,2006. A call for papers has been issued; visitwww.aist.org for complete information on how tosubmit an abstract for consideration.

More than 100 companies have already purchasedexhibit booths. For information or to reserve boothspace, visit www.aist.org or contact GeraldineKane (ext. 639 or [email protected]) or JeffreyCampbell (ext. 640 or [email protected]) at (724)776-6040. ✦✦

The AIST Foundation would like to thank ABB for sponsoring this raffle. Special thanks to H. Duff Hunt, FoundationTrustee, TXI Chaparral Steel, for his efforts in garnering close to $1,800 in donations to the AIST Foundationthrough raffle ticket sales.

AIST Foundation NASCAR DonationsNASCAR graciously provided a race car for display in the ExhibitHall at AISTech 2005.Thank you to all who made donations for theopportunity to have their photo taken in the race car. A total of$335 was raised to support AIST Foundation

AIST Foundation at AISTech 2005Bose Wave Music System RaffleThe AIST Foundation held a raffle at AISTech 2005 to raise funds to support AIST Foundation programs. ABB sponsored the raffle of a BoseWave Music System. All members who donated to the Foundationreceived a chance to enter the drawing, raising a grand total of $3,440.Karl Saylor of CCPI Inc., Blanchester, Ohio, was the winner of the BoseSystem.

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AIST Foundation Golf Classic 2005 The second annual AIST Foundation Golf Classic was the kickoff eventfor AISTech 2005. The outing was held on Sunday, May 8, 2005, at theHighland Creek Golf Club in Charlotte, N.C. The weather was perfectfor the golfers who raised more than $19,000 to support AISTFoundation programs.

The AIST Foundation would like to thank all the golfers who partici-pated and the companies who sponsored this event. Visit the AISTFoundation Web site at www.aist.org/foundation to view a photo albumof the day’s activities.

Thank You, Sponsors!

Corporate Sponsors — Nucor Corp. • AmeriFab Inc.

Luncheon Sponsor — Convention and Visitors Bureau ofGreater Cleveland

Tee, Green and Contest Sponsor – Chemical Lime Co.

Tee and Green Sponsors — Herr-Voss Stamco • Hickman,Williams & Co. • Danieli Corp. • Signal Metal Industries •Voest-Alpine Industries Inc. • Minteq International • SMSDemag Inc. • Skamol Americas Inc. • Air Liquide

Green Sponsor — Steel of West Virginia Inc.

Tee Sponsors – Paul Wurth Inc. • International Mill Service •Continental Design & Management Group • Middough Consulting Inc. • Berry Metal Co. • Gaylord Opryland Hotel

Contest Prize Donations — Ross Controls • Paul Wurth Inc.

Door Prize Donations — Voest-Alpine Industries Inc. • Voest-Alpine Services & Technologies Corp.

Gift Bag Donations — SMS Demag Inc. • Hereaus Electro-Nite Co. • Automation and Control Technology Inc. • National Recovery Systems • Paul Wurth Inc. • Herr-Voss Stamco •Delavan Spray Technologies • Geo. E. Fern Co. • Thermo Electron • Aker Kvaerner Songer Inc. • Cavotec Gantrex USA Inc. • Berry Metal Co. •IMS Systems Inc. • Instron Corp. •AMEPA America Inc.

Contest WinnersContest WinnersWinning Foursome

Bernhard Schiefer, MECC-USAJim Brooks, Superbolt

Bob McCurdy, SuperboltMike Farley, Injection Alloys

Closest to the PinDarrell Applegate, Nucor Steel–Indiana

Longest PuttJerry Nelesen, National Recovery Systems

Longest DriveTodd Miller, Chemical Lime Co.

Thank you to the AISTFoundation Golf Committee

Chair, John Ferriola, Nucor Corp.

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