ArcelorMittal announces closure of Georgetown wire rod facility; 226 jobs to be impacted

More than 220 skilled laborers and professionals at ArcelorMittal in Georgetown will lose their jobs later this year as the company announced Thursday it is closing its wire rod facility.

“Challenging market conditions facing the USA business” are to blame for the closure, according to the company. The closure, which will impact 226 employees, is expected to be complete between July and August, pending customer orders.

Brian Tucker, director of the Georgetown County Economic Development Department, said despite attempting to get confirmation of the closing prior to Thursday were unsuccessful, he said his department has already been working through expansion plans for up to five industries in Georgetown County with similar skill sets.

“All of those expansion plans include job creation and additional hiring,” Tucker said. “The folks at the steel mill have tremendous experience. They have a very specific set of skills. That experience and those skill sets are very much in demand. We’ll work with our existing industries, and we’ll work with ArcelorMittal and the Department of Employment and Workforce and people who are vested to try to find a home and a new position for as many of these folks that we possibly can.

“With all of that said, it doesn’t make it go away or make it any better. But we’re going to work through it and we’re going to make the best of it.”

The closure was made officially public Thursday through a new release.

“ArcelorMittal Georgetown, the company’s primary producer of wire rod in the United States, has been severely impacted by waves of unfairly traded steel imports from China and other countries,” according to a press release from the company. “Even in the most recent quarter, wire rod imports rose to account for 36 percent of the US market.”

The rise of imports, increasing competition within key domestic markets, and high legacy costs has forced the company to take a deeper look at all operations throughout the nation “in an effort to eliminate inefficiencies while investing in facilities that can compete effectively in all market conditions.”

No other ArcelorMittal facilities are affected at this time.

Mary Beth Holdford, spokeswoman for ArcelorMittal, could not be reached for comment Thursday.

ArcelorMittal has had a storied past with the Georgetown community.

The mill was shut down in July 2009 due to a lack of orders amid the struggling economy.

About six weeks after the mill shut down, the company asked for concessions to stave off the impact of the economic slowdown. Members of Steelworkers Union Local 7898 voted to decline the company's offer of a reduced 32-hour work week and a $3.65-per-hour pay cut when there are order shortages.

In June 2010, the workers voted to approve concessions that included a $2.00-an-hour wage cut, but did away with a previous request that would have increased insurance costs. The workers were promised an additional $1 an hour more in late 2011.

In early 2011, ArcelorMittal was back in production mode, often reaching 300,000 tons of production per year, according to company CEO P.S. Venkat.

In March 2014, ArcelorMittal was shut down while plant officials tried to pinpoint the cause of a leak that caused oil to spill into the Sampit River.

Tucker said any hit to the county’s workforce of more than 25,000 people is a tough one and the economic development department’s next step is to coordinate with the workforce and job placement centers to get employer information placed in a statewide database, assist in finding existing job openings and start matching skill sets.

“We will reach out to the employees and I’m sure the company will help us in that transitional process,” Tucker said. “The timing of the announcement is very unfortunate. We’re going to work through that and we’re going to plow ahead.”

Georgetown steel mill timeline

1968 | German industrialist Willy Korf begins building a steel mill on the site of the old Atlantic coast lumber mill in downtown Georgetown

1969 | The steel mill begins production

1983 | The government of Kuwait, a majority investor, seizes the mill after the Korf Industries empire crumbles

Late 1980s | Kuwait sells the mill to investors who also own the former Waccamaw Pottery complex

2001 | Steel mill owners file for bankruptcy, sell the plant for $53 million to MidCoast Industries

October 2003 | MidCoast files for bankruptcy and closes the mill

June 2004 | Mittal Steel, the world's largest steel producer, merges with ISG

June 2006 | Mittal merges with Arcelor to form a global steel giant

July 2009 | Mill closes as demand drops amid the Great Recession

January 2011 | ArcelorMittal reopens the mill

May 2015 | ArcelorMittal announces closure of Georgetown plant

This story was originally published May 14, 2015 at 9:59 AM with the headline "ArcelorMittal announces closure of Georgetown wire rod facility; 226 jobs to be impacted."