[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 152 (Wednesday, September 27, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1847]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             NORTHERN INDIANA BUILDING WITH STEEL ALLIANCE

                                 ______


                        HON. PETER J. VISCLOSKY

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 27, 1995

  Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, as an officer of the Congressional Steel 
Caucus, I am pleased to call your and my other colleagues' attention to 
a dynamic force in steel-framed housing: the Northern Indiana Building 
with Steel Alliance. This innovative collaboration is the result of an 
alliance between northwest Indiana's five major steel companies--U.S. 
Steel, Bethlehem Steel, LTV Steel, Inland Steel, and National/Midwest 
Steel--the Northern Indiana Public Service Co., Ivy Tech State College, 
Dietrich Industries Inc., Unimast, Inc., and Dale/Incor Industries. 
This alliance is the first public/private partnership in the Nation 
with a concentration on steel-framed housing. The Northwest Indiana 
Forum is the glue that holds the alliance together.
  The alliance will promote steel-framed housing to builders this 
evening, September 27, 1995, at the Builders Dinner, which will be held 
at the Radisson Star Plaza in Merrillville, IN.
  Northwest Indiana should be a national showcase for steel housing. 
This region represents the largest concentration of steel production in 
North America, and Indiana's First Congressional District leads the 
Nation in steel production. Since we're No. 1 in steel production, it 
makes perfect sense that northwest Indiana should be No. 1 in steel-
framed housing. In fact, to promote the use of steel for housing, I've 
cosponsored a resolution that would authorize a demonstration of steel 
housing on the Capitol grounds.
  The use of steel for housing is not only good for our domestic 
industry, it's smart. First, steel provides affordable and high quality 
construction materials. Second, steel is resistant to termites, vermin, 
and fire, and resilient in natural disasters. Finally, since steel is 
America's most recycled material, steel-framed houses help to conserve 
natural resources.
  Steel-framed housing is one of the fastest growing markets in the 
industry. The demand for light gauge, galvanized steel for residential 
applications saw an enormous growth in 1994. There was a total of 
40,000 steel-framed houses constructed in 1994, compared to only 13,000 
in 1993. According to the American Iron and Steel Institute, about 
525,000 tons of steel will be used in steel framing for homes in 1995. 
Another 275,000 tons will be used in roofing. As a result, these steel-
framed houses will allow our steel mills to produce 1.5 to 2 million 
additional tons of steel in which $1.3 to $3.6 billion will be 
generated. Moreover, these special houses will provide 6 million man-
hours of work, or 2,900 new jobs.
  The goal of the Northern Indiana Building with Steel Alliance is to 
eventually capture 25 percent of the residential applications market. 
Their hope is that this will be achieved as builders become more 
familiar working with steel and its inherent benefits. Key components 
of the regional initiative include assistance to builders with special 
seminars and training programs through Ivy Tech; cooperating with the 
Housing Futures Institute at Ball State University to develop new 
alternatives in housing technologies; and assisting local Habitat for 
Humanity sponsors to promote steel framing in homebuilding projects.
  Representatives of the steel companies participating in the alliance 
include: Jon Oram, Bethlehem Steel; Scharlene Hurston, Inland Steel; 
James Stoyka, LTV Steel; John Walsh, Midwest/National Steel; and Ed 
Charbonneau, U.S. Steel.
  Mr. Speaker, I congratulate these innovators, along with the other 
participants of the Northern Indiana Building with Steel Alliance, for 
taking the first step in lighting the fire that will fuel the American 
homebuilding market, as well as the economy of Indiana's First 
Congressional District.

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