COMPANYHISTORIES
NAIC 33111

Iron and Steel Mills (pt)

How the companies in this industry began, and the forces that shaped them.

32companies1731–1999founding years31still active1no longer operating
§ 01

The industry over time

Companies foundedEconomyTechnologyEnvironmentHistory
FoundedBuderus AG
1731
1856
TechnologyBessemer's process makes cheap steel possible.
FoundedFLSmidth & Co. A/S
1882
FoundedIspat Inland Inc.
1893
FoundedGerdau S.A.
1901
1903
TechnologyThe Wright brothers achieve powered flight.
FoundedTata Iron & Steel Co. Ltd.
1907
FoundedStelco Inc.
1910
1914
EconomyWorld War I begins; global trade reorders.
FoundedWheeling-Pittsburgh Corporation
1920
FoundedIscor LimitedFoundedSmorgon Steel Group Ltd.
1927
FoundedTosoh Corporation
1935
1939
EconomyWorld War II begins; wartime production surges.
FoundedHylsamex, S.A. de C.V.
1943
1945
EconomyThe war ends; a long global expansion begins.
1947
TechnologyThe transistor is invented.
FoundedRoanoke Electric Steel Corporation
1955
1958
TechnologyThe integrated circuit is demonstrated.
FoundedSiderar S.A.I.C.
1962
EnvironmentSilent Spring launches the modern environmental movement.
FoundedCorus Group plc
1967
FoundedPOSCO
1968
1975
TechnologyThe personal-computer era begins.
FoundedIspat International N.V.
1976
1981
TechnologyThe IBM PC launches and sets a standard.
1984
TechnologyApple ships the Macintosh; the GUI era begins.
FoundedBayou Steel Corporation
1988
1989
HistoryThe Berlin Wall falls; global markets open up.
1991
TechnologyThe World Wide Web is released to the public.
FoundedSteel Dynamics, Inc.
1993
TechnologyThe Mosaic browser brings the web to everyone.
1995
TechnologyWindows 95 launches; the internet goes mainstream.
1997
EnvironmentThe Kyoto Protocol sets the first climate targets.
2004
TechnologySocial media and Web 2.0 take hold.
2007
TechnologyThe iPhone launches the smartphone era.
2010
TechnologyCloud computing goes mainstream for business.
2015
EnvironmentThe Paris Agreement sets global climate targets.
2020
EconomyThe COVID-19 pandemic upends the global economy.
2022
EconomyInflation spikes; central banks raise rates sharply.
2023
TechnologyGenerative AI reaches mainstream business use.
§ 02

The companies

Buderus AG →
Active · founded 1731 · Germany
Buderus AG is the holding company for the German Buderus concern, best known for three main divisions producing steel,…
FLSmidth & Co. A/S →
Active · founded 1882 · Denmark
FLSmidth & Co.
BHP Billiton →
Active · founded 1885 · Australia
BHP Billiton was formed through the 2001 merger of Australia's mining and oil giant BHP and U.K.-based mining group…
Ispat Inland Inc. →
Active · founded 1893
Ispat Inland Inc.
Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. →
Active · founded 1896 · Japan
Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd.
Gerdau S.A. →
Active · founded 1901 · Brazil
A fast-rising star on the international steel market, Gerdau S.A.
American Cast Iron Pipe Company →
Active · founded 1905
American Cast Iron Pipe Company (ACIPCO), with 242,000 square meters of roofed production space and a daily production…
Tata Iron & Steel Co. Ltd. →
Active · founded 1907 · India
Tata Iron & Steel Company Ltd.
Stelco Inc. →
Active · founded 1910 · Canada
Stelco Inc.
NKK Corporation →
Defunct · founded 1912 · Japan
NKK Corporation is one of the world's largest steelmakers and Japan's second largest.
Wheeling-Pittsburgh Corporation →
Active · founded 1920
Wheeling-Pittsburgh Corporation (WPC) operates as the seventh-largest integrated steel concern in the United States.
McWane Corporation →
Active · founded 1921
Birmingham-based McWane Corporation is a holding company with an extensive network of interests in the manufacture of…
Iscor Limited →
Active · founded 1927 · South Africa
Iscor Limited has surprised the worldwide steel industry by shedding its valuable mining assets--spun off as publicly…
Quanex Corporation →
Active · founded 1927
Quanex Corporation is a leading U.S.
Smorgon Steel Group Ltd. →
Active · founded 1927 · Australia
Smorgon Steel Group Ltd.
Outokumpu Oyj →
Active · founded 1932 · Finland
Late 1940s:Flash Smelting is developed.
Tosoh Corporation →
Active · founded 1935 · Japan
Tosoh Corporation is one of Japan's leading manufacturers of industrial and specialty chemicals.
Hylsamex, S.A. de C.V. →
Active · founded 1943 · Mexico
Hylsamex, S.A.
Tubos de Acero de Mexico, S.A. (TAMSA) →
Active · founded 1952 · Mexico
Tubos de Acero de Mexico, S.A., which is generally referred to by its acronym TAMSA, is one of the world's leading…
Roanoke Electric Steel Corporation →
Active · founded 1955
Roanoke Electric Steel Corporation, operating out of Roanoke, Virginia, converts scrap metal into a variety of merchant…
Highveld Steel and Vanadium Corporation Limited →
Active · founded 1957 · South Africa
Highveld Steel and Vanadium Corporation Limited is one of South Africa's leading vertically integrated producers of…
Siderar S.A.I.C. →
Active · founded 1962 · Argentina
Siderar S.A.I.C.
Kentucky Electric Steel, Inc. →
Active · founded 1963
Kentucky Electric Steel, Inc.
Corus Group plc →
Active · founded 1967 · United Kingdom
Early 1980s:Hoogovens dissolves its joint venture with Hoesch Dortmund.
POSCO →
Active · founded 1968 · Kangnam-ku, Seoul
POSCO, formerly Pohang Iron and Steel Company Ltd., is among the world's leading steel producers.
Steel Authority of India Ltd. →
Active · founded 1973 · India
The Steel Authority of India Ltd.
Ispat International N.V. →
Active · founded 1976 · The Netherlands
In just ten years Ispat International N.V.
Shanghai Baosteel Group Corporation →
Active · founded 1978 · China
Shanghai Baosteel Group Corporation is the Chinese government-owned holding company for a group of steel, steel…
Bayou Steel Corporation →
Active · founded 1988
Bayou Steel Corporation operates a steel 'minimill' at its 287-acre site located next to the Mississippi River 35 miles…
Severstal Joint Stock Company →
Active · founded 1993 · Russia
Severstal Joint Stock Company, also known as OAO Severstal, is one of Russia's largest steel mills and the center of…
Steel Dynamics, Inc. →
Active · founded 1993
Steel Dynamics, Inc.
Thyssen Krupp AG →
Active · founded 1999 · Germany
Thyssen Krupp AG was created in March 1999 from the merger of two of Germany's oldest industrial giants, Thyssen AG and…
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