[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 129 (Thursday, September 23, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1721]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         USS POSCO INDUSTRIES CELEBRATES ITS 100TH ANNIVERSARY

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                           HON. GEORGE MILLER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 23, 2010

  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Madam Speaker, I rise today to 
recognize the 100th anniversary of USS POSCO Industries of Pittsburg, 
California.
  In 1910, Columbia Steel Company was established at the current site 
of the plant in Pittsburg--a single open hearth furnace making steel 
castings for dredging, lumber and shipping industries with 60 
employees. In the 1920s, the plant expanded to include the West's first 
nail mill, and later, the first hot dip tin mill west of the 
Mississippi to serve the food processing industry.
  In the 1930s, United States Steel purchased Columbia and expanded the 
facilities to serve big public works projects like construction of the 
San Francisco Bay Bridge, which consumed 200,000 tons of steel. Post 
World War II expansion included modern continuous sheet and tin mills, 
the West's first continuous rod mill, cold rolling mills, electrolytic 
tinning, cleaning, continuous coating and annealing lines.
  United States Steel became the first manufacturer in the West of 
galvanized sheet and thin-gauge tinplate in the 1950s, when plant 
employment peaked at about 5,200 men and women.
  In the 1960s and 1970s, competing materials such as aluminum and 
plastics, as well as the advent of mini-mills and foreign imports, led 
the company to focus on its most efficient and competitive product 
lines. When a pipe mill was added, the Pittsburg facility gained the 
distinction of having the most diverse product line of any steel plant 
in the United States.
  In 1986, USS POSCO Industries was formed as a 50/50 joint venture 
between United States Steel and POSCO of the Republic of Korea and the 
new company invested $450 million in modernizing facilities. Shortly 
afterwards, the company opened a Learning Center to promote continuing 
education. This Center continues to this day and now offers over 90 
courses to employees and members of the community. Meanwhile, a new era 
of world-class operations began with a consistent supply of 
continuously cast, high-quality hot bands arriving by ship and rail 
from the joint venture partners.
  USS POSCO was recognized in 1994 for outstanding corporate 
environmental achievement by the National Environmental Development 
Association. In 1996, the facility attained ISO 9002 certification, 
acknowledging compliance with the highest international standards for 
quality and manufacturing processes.
  In 2002, a $115 million project to rebuild the Pickle Line Tandem 
Cold Mill was completed after a May 2001 fire destroyed the mill.
  In 2005, USS POSCO was awarded the coveted ISO 14001:2004 
certification, the premier international standard for environmental 
excellence. Certification recognizes the company's strict environmental 
standards for documenting, training, auditing, and managing all aspects 
of the manufacturing process. The newly-merged company's 20th 
anniversary was celebrated in 2006 with sales exceeding $1 billion and 
2009 saw its best safety year ever.
  Currently, USS POSCO employees about 750 workers and its annual 
production is over one million tons. The steel the company produces is 
used to manufacture sanitary food cans, a variety of construction 
products including culverts, studs, roofing, and HVAC applications, 
electrical conduit, ornamental tubing, filters, computer cabinets and 
office furniture. USS POSCO is the largest employer in the City of 
Pittsburg and annually contributes about $400 million to the local 
economy.
  The company is the largest corporate fundraiser in the East Bay for 
the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), to which it has 
contributed for fifteen years, and in 2008 the company raised $173,000. 
The company's employees participate in a variety of local civic 
activities including Junior Achievement and the Los Medanos Community 
College Foundation, while the company worked with the college to 
establish a new apprenticeship program for vocational training.
  I know I speak for all Members of Congress when I congratulate USS 
POSCO on its 100th anniversary of continuous steel making in Pittsburg, 
California, and wish them continued success.

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