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Commercial Metals CEO Receives Steelmaker of the Year Award
05/07/2019 - Commercial Metals Company chairman of the board, president and chief executive Barbara Smith accepted AIST’s Steelmaker of the Year Award on Tuesday, saying that the recognition wouldn’t have come without the hard work and diligence of the company’s employees.
“In my mind, this award really belongs to the employees of CMC," Smith said. "They are the ones who diligently serve our loyal customers, and they are the ones who continuously improve our products and processes, consistently applying the latest technologies and innovation to take us to new levels of quality and productivity.”
The Steelmaker of the Year award is one of AIST’s highest honors and recognizes steel leaders who have had a significant impact on the industry.
Under Smith’s leadership, Commercial Metals closed on a US$600 million acquisition of four rebar mills and 33 fabrication facilities from Gerdau. It also is ramping up production at its Durant, Okla., micro-mill, which has become a domestic source of spooled rebar for the U.S. market. Additionally, the company has added a rebar spooler to its original micro-mill in Arizona.
Smith spoke to the micro-mill investments in accepting the award.
“This award aims to recognize those who improve and advance the steelmaking process. At CMC, we pride ourselves in being leaders in technology by taking the bold step to build the first micro-mill in the world in Mesa, Arizona,” she said.
“The mill came on-line in the depths of the Great Recession, which was the worst possible timing. But we worked through those early days, and the technology has been great for us and great for our customers.
“Thankfully, our timing was much better with the Oklahoma mill. CMC is proud to be leading the way in adopting new technologies that help provide our customers with a superior product and allow us to be as efficient as possible,” she said.
Following the breakfast, Smith and other industry executives spoke with reporters, who asked what might happen if trade measures were lifted.
Smith said trade relief comes and goes, but Commercial Metals is working to be successful in any economic situation. One of the ways the company – and the broader industry – is doing that, she said, is by investing in technology that will help them to remain low-cost and efficient producers.
“All of those things give us great optimism,” she said.
The Steelmaker of the Year award is one of AIST’s highest honors and recognizes steel leaders who have had a significant impact on the industry.
Under Smith’s leadership, Commercial Metals closed on a US$600 million acquisition of four rebar mills and 33 fabrication facilities from Gerdau. It also is ramping up production at its Durant, Okla., micro-mill, which has become a domestic source of spooled rebar for the U.S. market. Additionally, the company has added a rebar spooler to its original micro-mill in Arizona.
Smith spoke to the micro-mill investments in accepting the award.
“This award aims to recognize those who improve and advance the steelmaking process. At CMC, we pride ourselves in being leaders in technology by taking the bold step to build the first micro-mill in the world in Mesa, Arizona,” she said.
“The mill came on-line in the depths of the Great Recession, which was the worst possible timing. But we worked through those early days, and the technology has been great for us and great for our customers.
“Thankfully, our timing was much better with the Oklahoma mill. CMC is proud to be leading the way in adopting new technologies that help provide our customers with a superior product and allow us to be as efficient as possible,” she said.
Following the breakfast, Smith and other industry executives spoke with reporters, who asked what might happen if trade measures were lifted.
Smith said trade relief comes and goes, but Commercial Metals is working to be successful in any economic situation. One of the ways the company – and the broader industry – is doing that, she said, is by investing in technology that will help them to remain low-cost and efficient producers.
“All of those things give us great optimism,” she said.
