Granite City Steel Works (U.S. Steel)

xing · PostMay 19, 2008#12008-05-19T17:44+00:00

Granite City is growing away from its steel image

BND

Granite City streetscapeOpening of bridge has spurred growth

BY WILL BUSS

News-Democrat

http://www.bnd.com/news/local/story/344420.html

BND

GRANITE CITY --Mayor Ed Hagnauer wants to shake "the stigma."

"Dirty little steel town," said the life-long resident. "That's the kind of stigma we've always lived with, and nobody has really aggressively gone out and tried to change that. I think that's kind of what we're doing."

Since his election to office three years ago, the former Granite City fire chief and firefighter has made strides that are beginning to take shape in his hometown that has long been noted for its steel production.

First, a new streetscape program was undertaken on Niedringhaus Avenue along the city's oldest and most historic buildings, including City Hall. Sixteen cameras were placed around the downtown areas allowing police to monitor areas deemed unsafe.

City property inspections have been bolstered and alleyways are regularly cleaned.

The city has purchased six vacant buildings downtown, including the former YMCA located across the street from City Hall. This is where Hagnauer and the City Council envision a new arts and theater center and museum in the 84-year-old building.

continue:

http://www.bnd.com/news/local/story/344420.html

PostMay 19, 2008#22008-05-19T17:47+00:00

BTW, I think that streetscape looks great. That's probably one of my favorites of the new streetscapes in the Metro East.

Granite City, Belleville, Collinsville, O'Fallon, and Edwardsville, have all improved their streetscapes.

framer · PostMay 20, 2008#32008-05-20T05:19+00:00

Yeah, good job on the streetscape. I've got to get over there and spend a day exploring the Eastside sometime.

southsidepride · PostMay 20, 2008#42008-05-20T17:54+00:00

yep, nothing like taking a couple of old Uncle Tupelo CDs and wandering around the East side. I get over there so seldom it feels like traveling out of town when I do go.

shimmy · PostDec 08, 2008#52008-12-08T23:49+00:00

I couldn't find it on here and I couldn't find any articles on the News-Democat's website or the Post-Dispatch's website, but I just heard from my cousin who's father and girlfriend's father work at GCS that it is shutting down.From what I hear the original plan was to layoff anyone who was not absolutely essential to keeping the furnaces burning. Change of plans, I suppose. Talk about a blow to a city.

MattnSTL · PostDec 09, 2008#62008-12-09T00:07+00:00

They have been planning a short term shut down. I don't know of any full closing

PostDec 09, 2008#72008-12-09T00:12+00:00

U.S. Steel Corp. said late Tuesday it plans to idle its plants in Granite City, Ill.; Keewatin, Minn.; and at Great Lakes Works near Detroit.

A total of 3,500 employees will be affected.

The unions representing workers at these facilities have been notified of what the company said is a temporary idling and Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) notices will be filed, U.S. Steel said in a release.

It has not been determined how long the temporary idling will last because it is dependent on market conditions, said Courtney Boone, a U.S. Steel spokeswoman.

The idling is in response to the Pittsburgh-based company's “continuing review and analysis of market conditions and their impact on customers' orders.”

Read More

Armstrong said the company will put Granite City Works and the two other impacted locations on "hot idle," which means the plants will keep some employees on duty to maintain blast furnaces and other machinery so that the sites will be ready to restart operations.

Armstrong said the company had not opted to temporarily halt operations at plants since the 1980s.

Read More

KSDK -- Between 1,500 and 2,000 workers could be laid off at the U.S. Steel plant in Granite City. U.S. Steel plans to idle the plant. The company says the lay-offs will likely come before the end of the year.

A skeleton crew will keep the plant in what is called a "hot idle." That will keep the blast furnace going so that the plant can reopen as quickly as possible.

The company says that will happen when the economy improves.

Read More

shimmy · PostDec 09, 2008#82008-12-09T04:03+00:00

Well, apparently those affected aren't counting on the "temporary idling".

MattnSTL · PostDec 09, 2008#92008-12-09T05:03+00:00

It does say it will be a while, but I don't see why they would keep the furnaces going if it won't reopen.

little sal · PostDec 09, 2008#102008-12-09T16:16+00:00

A friend of mine who works there also said it looks like a close down.

shimmy · PostDec 09, 2008#112008-12-09T20:52+00:00

MattnSTL wrote:It does say it will be a while, but I don't see why they would keep the furnaces going if it won't reopen.

That's what I'm saying, I heard that they're shutting the furnaces down now, too.

juiceinkirkwood · PostJan 03, 2009#122009-01-03T17:34+00:00

My brother in law from southern Illinois is doing construction work inside the steel mill. So I wouldn't bet that it's closed for good.

shimmy · PostJan 04, 2009#132009-01-04T04:07+00:00

^That's good. People are just worried that it's going to be like one of the businesses that temporarily closes...and then never reopens.

juiceinkirkwood · PostJan 04, 2009#142009-01-04T06:22+00:00

Shimmy wrote:^That's good. People are just worried that it's going to be like one of the businesses that temporarily closes...and then never reopens.

Yeah, and who can blame them...but, I think construction is a good sign.

shimmy · PostJan 11, 2009#152009-01-11T17:54+00:00

Sunday, Jan. 11, 2009

Granite City steel-making future uncertain

BY WILL BUSS - News-Democrat

GRANITE CITY -- The next edition of Doug May's newsletter almost went the way of the industry it chronicles.

The veteran steelworker of 35 years is the editor of The Mettle Post, which is supported by dues from the United Steelworkers of America. But since he and approximately 1,550 fellow U.S. Steel workers have been temporarily laid off, there was some talk about halting the newsletter as well.

"We thought it might be shelved for a while," May said. "But we're going to continue with it."

The publication continues, but May and others wonder when they will return to work. Last month, U.S. Steel Corp. shut down operations indefinitely at three Midwestern plants, including its Granite City steel mill. Only a skeleton crew of about 400 remains on the job in Granite City Works -- 300 in the blast furnace and 100 inside the main plant -- so that the mill will be ready to resume operations the moment workers are given the green light to return.

http://www.bnd.com/news/local/story/610558.html

DogtownBnR · PostJan 22, 2015#162015-01-22T13:36+00:00

More job losses....

http://www.ksdk.com/story/news/local/il ... /22113813/

PostMar 25, 2015#172015-03-25T14:59+00:00

http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/ ... fe349.html

US Steel to temporarily shutter the Granite City facility.

dredger · PostMar 25, 2015#182015-03-25T19:01+00:00

^ Hopefully this will be temporary. No matter how much Granite City is growing away from its steel image the Granit Works and 2,000 jobs is huge. I don't believe St. Louis County still has recovered from the pre-recession job market first from the Ford Plant closing (Finally some manufacturing is going back in its place) and then the Chrysler closing up shop.

downtown2007 · PostMar 25, 2015#192015-03-25T19:13+00:00

Something tells me they aren't coming back.

moorlander · PostMay 28, 2015#202015-05-28T16:20+00:00

Granite City Steel will remain operating
U.S. Steel will not close its Granite City mill as had been expected, a spokesman for U.S. Rep. Mike Bost said Thursday.
Instead, it will lay off about 80 workers and keep one blast furnace in operation, spokesman Jim Forbes said.
Forbes said Bost's office was informed of the decision by U.S. Steel, which owns the mill.
The company had planned a temporary shutdown of the entire mill by today, which would have meant laying off about 2,000 workers.

http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/ ... 81459.html

jshank83 · PostDec 13, 2016#212016-12-13T19:01+00:00

Looks like US Steel is reopening part of its operations in February. That is great news!

shimmy · PostDec 14, 2016#222016-12-14T18:51+00:00

jshank83 wrote:Looks like US Steel is reopening part of its operations in February. That is great news!

Huge news that, quite frankly, I was skeptical of ever happening.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J320A using Tapatalk

framer · PostDec 14, 2016#232016-12-14T19:33+00:00

With all the construction going on everywhere, you'd think that every steel mill in the world would be working at capacity.

arch city · PostDec 14, 2016#242016-12-14T19:50+00:00

^They are all in China.

Ebsy · PostDec 14, 2016#252016-12-14T23:02+00:00

framer wrote:With all the construction going on everywhere, you'd think that every steel mill in the world would be working at capacity.

The issue is that even though steel prices are rising due to the Obama administration ending the dumping of illegal steel by Italy and China, there is still a large surplus in the market, creating a lagging effect for restarting the idling plants in the US. This is even truer for the Granite City steelworks, which makes tubes, production of which lags even further behind sheetmetal.