ArcelorMittal to reopen Georgetown steel mill

Wednesday, 19 Jan 2011
It is reported that, by this time next week, the ArcelorMittal Steel Mill in Georgetown will produce steel for the first time in about 18 months.
As per report, last week, the mill fired up its furnaces and started making small batches of steel as test runs for the nearly 264,000 tonnes of wire rod expected to come out the mill annually, based on market conditions. That's about 480,000 tonnes less than the mill is capable of producing, but workers are optimistic the mill will remain open.
Mr Mark Mercer said that he had pretty much given up on the idea that the mill would reopen. He had been working at the mill for about 21 years when it closed in July 2009 because of a lack of orders. But he said he feels sure the mill will stay open for more than a few years.
He added that "If they were going to just run it for a few more years they would have just patched it up. But I've never seen so much done. They are spending a lot of money. It's really looking good."
Mr Donald Davis, a mill employee for about 11 years, said that he had faith all along that the factory would reopen. He added that "I was just waiting for it to open back up. I got my letter about two weeks ago, and it was exciting."
Mr Davis said that now he is just waiting for that steel to come through. And the Georgetown community is waiting to see what impact the mill's reopening will have on its economy.
Mr Wayne Gregory director of Georgetown County Economic Development said that "It will be substantial." He added that it will take time before area unemployment numbers show the impact of the mill's reopening but it definitely has a strong impact.
Georgetown's most recent unemployment rate stood at 11.7%. But taking the mill's 187 employees out of the unemployed category and back into the work force would bring that rate to about 11%.
Mr James Sanderson local president of United Steelworkers Union said that the mill is working up to filling those 187 positions. He said there are between 10 and 15 open positions at the mill that have to be filled. He added that "We took in over 700 applications for those jobs. ArcelorMittal is now in the process of sorting through applications."
When the mill closed, it had almost 250 employees, but Mr Sanderson said approximately 35 people retired and a few decided not to come back to work.
Mr Howard said that those who did not come back to work are missed. But he said he is so happy to be back. It's like a family away from home.
Sourced from www.thesunnews.com