Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Building,
in downtown Wheeling, West Virginia. |
|
Industry | Metals |
---|---|
Successor | RG Steel, LLC (bankrupt entity) |
Founded | 1920 |
Headquarters |
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1920-Aug. 22, 1986) Wheeling, West Virginia (Aug. 1986-2013) |
Products | raw steel galvanized steel substrate steel coils bridge building sheet metal tin coke |
Revenue | liquidated |
Website | www.rg-steel.com |
Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel was a steel manufacturer based in Wheeling, West Virginia.
Wheeling Steel Corporation was organized on June 21, 1920 as a successor to three prior steel companies. The company consisted of factories for 30 miles, from Benwood, West Virginia north to Steubenville, Ohio.
Wheeling Steel was acquired by the Pittsburgh Steel to form the Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corporation in December 1968. The merger added:
Wheeling-Pittsburgh’s was slow to modernize its high-cost facilities and overcome downturns in the steelmaking industry in the 1980’s. A late attempt to use a pig-iron blast furnace and electric arc furnace in tandem failed when the electric arc furnace did not achieve its designed capacity. Esmark engaged in a proxy takeover for Wheeling-Pittsburgh in 2005 and took over the company in November 2007. Severstal acquired Esmark’s Wheeling-Pittsburgh holdings in August 2008 for $1.25 billion, which was then acquired by RG Steel in 2011. Mass layoffs by RG Steel began in June 2012 after the company declared bankruptcy. The company sent notices to all 4000 RG Steel employees that they may be laid off, with layoffs beginning on June 4, 2012.
After Chapter 11 bankruptcy and RG Steel liquidation, the Yorkville, Ohio plant was sold back to Esmark, the Martins Ferry, Ohio plant was sold to a local businessman, and the Steubenville, Ohio plant was sold to the metal recycler Herman Strauss.