Essar Steel Algoma

See also Algoma

Essar Steel Algoma (formerly Algoma Steel) is an integrated primary steel producer located on the St. Marys River in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. Its products are sold in Canada and the United States as well as overseas. Algoma Steel was founded in 1902 by Francis Clergue, an American entrepreneur who had settled in Sault Ste. Marie. The company emerged from bankruptcy protection in 2004. In April 2007, Algoma Steel was purchased by India's Essar Group for US$ 1.63 billion, continuing operations as a subsidiary known as Essar Steel Algoma Inc.

History

Construction of the steelworks started in February, 1901. On February 18, 1902 the first Bessemer converter was put in operation using pig iron made from the Helen mine, owned by Algoma. The first rails were produced by the complex in May 1902. However, blast furnaces for pig iron manufacture were not completed at the site until 1904. Unlike most other steel producers, Algoma had no access to local coal, forcing it to import coal and coke from the United States. The Bessemer process was felt to produce steel that was well-suited to manufacture of rails, which was the Algoma complex primary product for the first two decades of its existence.