A scene in a steel mill, Republic Steel, Youngstown, Ohio

Republic Steel is an American steel manufacturer that was once the country's third largest

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistan ...

producer. It was founded as the Republic Iron and Steel Company in

Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County. At the 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area, whi ...

in 1899. After rising to prominence during the early 20th Century, Republic suffered heavy economic losses and was eventually bought out before re-emerging in the early 2000s as a subsidiary. The company currently manufactures Special Bar Quality (SBQ) steel bars and employs around 2,000 people. It is currently owned by Grupo Simec, based in

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Mexico, while the Guadalaj ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

Corporate history

Origins and rise to prominence

In 1927,

Cyrus S. Eaton Cyrus Stephen Eaton Sr. (December 27, 1883 – May 9, 1979) was a Canadian-American investment banker, businessman and philanthropist, with a career that spanned seventy years. For decades Eaton was one of the most powerful financiers in the ...

acquired and combined Republic with several other small steel companies, with the goal of becoming large enough to rival U.S. Steel. The newly named Republic Steel Corporation was headquartered in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

, and became America's third largest steel company, trailing only U.S. Steel and

Bethlehem Steel The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. For most of the 20th century, it was one of the world's largest steel producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its succ ...

after acquiring Bourne-Fuller Company and the Central Alloy Steel Company (located in

Massillon, Ohio Massillon is a city in Stark County, Ohio, Stark County in the U.S. state of Ohio, approximately west of Canton, Ohio, Canton, south of Akron, and south of Cleveland. The population was 32,146 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Mass ...

) in the 1930s. Tom M. Girdler became the first chairman of the

board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit orga ...

. Eaton hired Girdler from Jones and Laughlin Steel Company, where he had served as president. Girdler modernized Republic Steel with the introduction of better alloys such as "light steel". During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, while still chairman of Republic Steel, Girdler relocated to California to serve as

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especiall ...

Consolidated Aircraft The Consolidated Aircraft Corporation was founded in 1923 by Reuben H. Fleet in Buffalo, New York, the result of the Gallaudet Aircraft Company's liquidation and Fleet's purchase of designs from the Dayton-Wright Company as the subsidiary was ...

, a military aircraft manufacturer. Following the war, Girdler left Consolidated to run Republic's aviation department. Republic Steel was known for its labor problems during the Depression. On

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...

, May 26, 1937, a strike escalated into the Memorial Day massacre of 1937, in which Chicago police fired into an unarmed group of protesters, and killed ten, four outright. This was documented by the 1937 short film '' Republic Steel Strike Riot Newsreel Footage''. Girdler never signed the labor contract. Women workers leaving the Republic Steel plant

Women workers leaving the Republic Steel plant

When Girdler retired in 1945, Charles M. White was named chairman of the company. White was a

protégé Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...

of Girdler's at Jones & Laughlin Steel, and was appointed assistant vice president in charge of operations at Republic Steel in May 1930. Five years later, when Girdler was appointed president of Republic Steel, White was promoted to take over Girdler's role as vice president of operations.Thomas, Jr., Robert McG. "Charles White, Former Chairman of Republic Steel, Dies in Florida." ''New York Times.'' January 11, 1977. In 1945, White was elected president of Republic Steel by the company's board of directors. He replaced Rufus Wysor, who retired. In 1960, at the age of 70, Charles M. White retired as chairman of Republic Steel. He remained on the board of directors until 1966,"White, Charles McElroy." ''The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History.'' July 10, 1997.
Accessed 2012-03-13. and was given the title of honorary chairman."Republic Steel Names New Chief." ''New York Times.'' December 20, 1960. Thomas Patton, a private attorney who worked on the merger that formed Republic Steel was hired in 1936 to form Republic's internal legal department. As general counsel in the 1930s and 1940s, he negotiated with workers on behalf of management during the steel strikes. He went on to become president, then chief executive and chairman. Republic_Steel_Logo_(old)

Innovations

Republic Steel built a steel rolling mill in 1958 in Cotorro, Cuba. Plant manager Ernest Breedlove fled Cuba with his new Cuban bride when

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 20 ...

confiscated the plant and shipped the newly installed machinery to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

. Breedlove built another modern plant for Compania Fundidora de Fierro y Acero de Monterrey, S. A. in Monterrey Mexico and later pioneered the mini-mill concept at Nucor Steel. Republic Steel was one of the last major steel firms to use low-phosphorus Adirondack

magnetite Magnetite is a mineral and one of the main iron ores, with the chemical formula Fe2+Fe3+2O4. It is one of the oxides of iron, and is ferrimagnetic; it is attracted to a magnet and can be magnetized to become a permanent magnet itself. With ...

s, operating the Chateaugay Ore & Iron Company in

Lyon Mountain, New York Lyon Mountain is a hamlet and census-designated place located in the town of Dannemora in Clinton County, New York, United States. The population was 423 at the 2010 census. The northern slopes of Lyon Mountain are in the southern part of the c ...

from 1939 to 1967. The Chateaugay mine was one of the deepest commercial iron ore mines in the United States, with stopes as much as 3,500 feet (1,050 m) below the surface.

Decline, merger, and re-launch

Republic Steel remained prosperous until the 1970s, when rising foreign imports, labor costs, and other factors caused severe stress at Republic and throughout the steel industry in the U.S. In 1984, Republic merged into the

Jones and Laughlin Steel The Jones and Laughlin Steel Corporation began as the American Iron Company, founded in 1852 by Bernard Lauth and Benjamin Franklin Jones, a few miles (c 4 km) south of Pittsburgh along the Monongahela River. Lauth's interest was bought i ...

subsidiary of the LTV Corporation, with the new entity being known as LTV Steel. An employee stock ownership plan bought LTV's steel bar division and renamed it Republic Engineered Steels in 1989. In 1998, Republic Engineered Steels merged with Bar Technologies to become Republic Technologies International. Republic Engineered Products was established in December 2003 with the purchase of operating assets from Republic Engineered Products LLC. In July 2005 RES was acquired by Industrias CH, S.A de C.V. (ICH). In September 2011 RES changed its name to Republic Steel.

Recent corporate history

In April 2014, the company agreed to pay a $2.4 million fine to the

Occupational Safety and Health Administration The Occupational Safety and Health Administration'' (OSHA ) is a large regulatory agency of the United States Department of Labor that originally had federal visitorial powers to inspect and examine workplaces. Congress established the agen ...

(OSHA) and agreed to "settle alleged health and safety violations" at four Republic Steel facilities—in Canton, Lorain and Massillon in Ohio, and in Blasdell, New York. OSHA said they found over 100 violations of health and safety at the facilities run by Republic.

References

External links

Western Reserve Historical Society history
* Historic American Engineering Record documentation: ** ** ** ** ** ** ** {{DEFAULTSORT:Republic Steel Steel companies of the United States Manufacturing companies based in Cleveland Defunct companies based in Cleveland American companies established in 1899 Manufacturing companies established in 1899 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1984 Historic American Engineering Record in Ohio 1899 establishments in Ohio 1984 disestablishments in Ohio 2011 establishments in Ohio Former components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average Historic American Engineering Record in Alabama