ArcelorMittal Steelton Rumored for Sale

According to Harrisburg Regional Chamber of Commerce President David Black and Dauphin County Commissioner George Hartwick, two parties have shown interest in purchasing the plant.

Steelton Borough Manager Doug Brown told ABC 27 news “The plant is an integral part of what our community is. It is something we are very proud of.”

“They’re by far the largest consumer of our water, our sewer, the utilities, as well as the tax base that comes from the mill,” said Brown. “You have to be concerned about your largest employer possibly being bought out, but you also can’t panic,” he added.

USW Local 1688 President Ray Napoli said he was told that the plant was for sale, but the company has been “jockeying back and forth” on whether to keep the business.

“We’re still making money,” Napoli told ABC. “For all the crap that’s gone on, the plant is still making money. Not the way Mr. Mittal wants it, but it’s making money.”

The officials interviewed by various media sources were not over concerned that the mill would be closed by a new owner. The facility was just upgraded in 2015 with a $52 million electric arc furnace.

“I don’t think that sort of significant investment, in a tight margin industry, would have been made if Steelton was not positioned to continue to be competitive in the rail market,” Hartwick told Penn Live.

The Steelton facility was built in 1865 by the Pennsylvania Steel Company to provide steel for railroad construction. In 1917 it was sold to Bethlehem Steel and, almost a century later, was sold to International Steel Group (ISG) in 2003. ISG was purchased by Mittal Steel in 2005 and the facility became ArcelorMittal Steelton in 2007.

The facility includes a 150 ton electric-arc furnace with ladle refining and vacuum degassing, a three-strand continuous jumbo bloom caster, an ingot-teeming facility and rail rolling and finishing.