Wheeling-Pitt Closing Furnace

Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp. announced plans to permanently idle its No. 1 blast furnace in Steubenville, Ohio. The shutdown took place May 5. It ends more than 100 years of service by one of the oldest blast furnaces running in the United States. The company will continue to operate its No. 5 blast furnace, along with its new Consteel® Electric Arc Furnace, to produce steel for its caster and hot strip mill.

The shutdown comes as Wheeling-Pitt has transformed itself into the only steel company engaged in the making, processing and fabrication of steel and steel products using both integrated and EAF technology. Its Consteel furnace produced its first heat on Nov. 29, 2005. Hot metal charging was introduced into the furnace last week, making it the only EAF in the Western Hemisphere to adopt this practice.

"With the charging of hot metal into our Consteel EAF and the shut down of our No. 1 Blast Furnace, Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel has crossed another important threshold toward its transformation into a modern 21st Century steelmaker," said James G. Bradley, chairman and CEO. "We are just beginning to see the benefits of our long-term strategy of combining integrated and EAF technology."