Steel Mills
AK Steel Employee Honored with Award for Women in Leadership
Written by Sandy Williams
April 17, 2019
AK Steel announced that longtime engineering employee, Laura Szpot, was recognized by the Manufacturing Institute as one of the 2019 STEP Ahead Award honorees who exemplify leadership in Science, Technology, Engineering or Production.
Laura was among honorees recently recognized by the Manufacturing Institute in Washington, D.C. The Manufacturing Institute is an authority on the attraction, qualification and development of world-class manufacturing talent. As part of that work, the Institute champions diversity, works to empower women leaders and represent all levels of the manufacturing industry.
“We are proud of Laura’s achievement and are pleased to participate in the Manufacturing Institute’s event to recognize women in manufacturing,” said Roger K. Newport, AK Steel Chief Executive Officer. “Science, technology and manufacturing roles are key to enable us to deliver innovative steel solutions to meet our customers’ needs, and to drive manufacturing for our company and our nation.”
Laura joined AK Steel in 1981 and has progressed through a number of roles in Quality Control at AK Steel’s Middletown Works in Middletown, Ohio. She is currently Manager, Routing and Applications, where she manages the Product Metallurgy group. Laura holds a Bachelor of Science in Materials Science from the School of Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
While women make up nearly half the U.S. labor force, that number lags in manufacturing. “The Manufacturing Institute’s STEP Ahead awards are an important element of our commitment to helping foster a 21st century manufacturing workforce by developing current leaders and engaging future ones,” said Carolyn Lee, Executive Director of the Manufacturing Institute.
Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Steel Mills
Ternium pushes forward with growth projects despite slump in earnings and Mexican market
Ternium S.A. Fourth quarter ended Dec.31 2024 2023 Change Net sales $3,876 $4,931 -21.4% Net income (loss) $333 $554 -39.9% Per diluted share $1.43 $2.11 -32.2% Full year ended Dec.31 Net sales $17,649 $17,610 0.2% Net income (loss) $174 $986 -82.4% Per diluted share $(0.27) $3.44 -108% (in millions of dollars except per share) While […]
Kestenbaum, Ancora state their case in proxy fight for U.S. Steel
Ancora Holdings is moving forward with its proxy fight to oust U.S. Steel’s leadership and install a new board of directors and Alan Kestenbaum as CEO.
BlueScope shelves midstream facility but still upbeat on US
BlueScope Steel is pulling back on its expansion plans in the US for now but remains optimistic about the North American market.
Japanese PM cites ‘unjust political interference’ in Nippon/USS deal: Report
Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said on Monday that former President Joe Biden’s decision to block Nippon Steel’s buy of U.S. Steel was “unjust political interference,” according to a report in Reuters. This comes after another Reuters report on Friday saying that President Trump would not object to Nippon taking a minority stake in the […]
Trump says Nippon will ‘invest heavily’ in USS rather than buy it
Nippon Steel has agreed to “invest heavily in U.S. Steel as opposed to own it,” President Donald Trump said on Friday during a press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. U.S. Steel is “a very important company” and was once “the greatest company in the world”. Of potential foreign ownership of the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker, Trump said, “the concept, psychologically, not good."