AK Steel Celebrates Opening of New Research Center
04/07/2017 - AK Steel officially opened its US$36 million Research and Innovation Center during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on 7 April. More than 100 people, including local, state and federal officials, and AK Steel staff and managers, attended.
|
About two years in the making, the center not only sends a message to the steel industry and steel consumers, but also provides a new and modern home for its research staff and reaffirms its century-long relationship with its hometown of Middletown, Ohio. |
AK Steel executives and guests cut the ribbon on the steelmaker's US$36 million Research and Innovation Center in Middletown, Ohio, USA.
|
The center also has pilot production lines on which it can melt, cast and roll new varieties of steel.
“These pilot lines replicate not only the processes of our own steel mills, but also of our customers’ manufacturing processes. So we can produce prototype material and evaluate the various characteristics of our steels to model the performance needed by our customers,” said Eric Petersen, vice president of research and innovation.
Petersen said the center was designed with collaboration in mind. Not only among employees, but with customers.
“From the very onset of design, we built this facility with a focus on providing solutions for our customers. We recognize that in today’s market, it’s not just about introducing an innovative steel alloy or a new product design; it’s truly about collaboration with your customers,” he said.
Although the opening of the Research and Innovation Center was a proud moment for AK Steel, it was bittersweet for many of the people who work there, with the mixed emotions arising from the recent death of Johannes “Hans” Schade, AK Steel’s late corporate manager of research and a noted casting expert.
A longtime AIST member, Schade died on 2 November 2016 after losing his battle with cancer, passing just as co-workers were preparing to move into a facility he thoroughly supported. Schade, who was 54, was well-known throughout the company and the greater steel industry for not only his expertise and intellect, but his sense of humor and the joy he took in mentoring others.
So to memorialize their colleague, and to recognize his 26 years of distinguished service with AK Steel and its predecessor, Armco, the company dedicated the facility’s casting lab to him during a private ceremony in the weeks prior to the opening.
Schade’s family attended the ceremony. His daughter, Stephanie Coleman, recalled the pride her father had in being a metallurgist.
“He loved that this field brought him a new challenge every day. And he would always say, ‘Stephanie, when you look for a career, find one where you’re never bored. You don’t always have to have fun, but you can’t be bored.’ And he never was.”
She added: “This was a place that always challenged him and brought new opportunities to him. It was a place where he could grow personally and professionally, and help others grow as well.”
