Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel


Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel was a steel manufacturer based in Wheeling, West Virginia.

Operations

The company owned the following factories, all of which are between Benwood, West Virginia and Steubenville, Ohio.
Wheeling Steel was acquired by Pittsburgh Steel to form the Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corporation in December 1968. The merger added:
Wheeling Steel Corporation was organized on June 21, 1920.
The company was slow to modernize its high-cost facilities and, in 1985, the company filed for bankruptcy protection.
In 1986, the company closed a rail mill that employed 200 people.
The company reduced its employee count from 8,500 in 1985 to 6,500 in 1990.
In 2001, the company filed for bankruptcy protection again and in 2003, the company emerged from bankruptcy protection.
Esmark acquired the company in November 2007 after a proxy battle.
In August 2008, Severstal acquired Esmark’s Wheeling-Pittsburgh holdings for $1.25 billion.
In 2011, Severstal sold the former Wheeling-Pitt steelmaking operations to RG Steel.
In 2012, RG Steel filed for bankruptcy protection and initiated layoffs.
As part of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy liquidation of RG Steel, 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. The Mingo Junction mill was purchased by a group of investors called Acero Junction and was refurbished. In June 2018, the mill was purchased by JSW Steel Ltd for $80.81 million.
The Follansbee, WV cokemaking facility was retained by Severstal until 2014, when it was sold to AK Steel. The facility is currently operated as Mountain State Carbon, LLC, a subsidiary of AK Steel.
The former Beech Bottom Works site is being refurbished by aluminum producer Jupiter Aluminum to coat aluminum coils.