Alton Steel Officially Opens

Alton Steel, which re-opened after being closed by its previous owner, has attracted a number of scrap-related companies as it starts to produce a host of steel products. The company was previously operated as Laclede Products, a company that filed for bankruptcy protection and closed down several years ago.

"These businesses will try to feed off each other, and when you’re so close, you can do that," said Max Mullins of Mullins Salvage, which will occupy a large building on the west side of Cut Street.

Other companies that have located on the property include Stein Steel Mill Services and Azcon Corp., although Azcon has had a place on the property since before Laclede Steel Co. closed the mill in July 2001.

Stein has been processing slag from the pit at Alton Steel’s electric melt shop. The pit is situated under the furnace, where it pours molten steel into a ladle.

Jim Conlon, vice president and general counsel for Stein, which is based out of Cleveland, said Stein would be processing slag and recovering metal for Alton Steel, while selling the byproduct for road-base or as concrete aggregate or asphalt aggregate.

"We’re very excited about the resurrection of (the steel mill)," Conlon said. "The only way these things are successful is if they are a partnership."

Stein has other locations in Granite City, Sterling, Ill., Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and Alabama. Once production at Alton Steel increases, Stein looks to employ five or six people at the property in Alton.

Azcon also has formed a partnership with Alton Steel. It leases property there, and now it has become Alton Steel’s sole supplier of scrap materials for the melt shop. It also supplies alloys and electrodes for use in the ladle furnace, where Alton Steel mixes in the chemistry for the type of steel it produces.

Miles Lynch, a vice president for Azcon, said the scrap comes from Azcon plants and other scrap recycling facilities for which Azcon acts as a broker.

"I had 25 companies waiting to buy from me," Mullins said. "I wouldn’t sell until I knew whether Mel (Cook, president of Alton Steel) needed it.

"We need Alton Steel."