Hello everyone,
The steel mill in Claymont is only a memory after providing hundreds of jobs over the years.
The site has been razed with plans calling for redevelopment as commercial space. Progress has been slow as the site underwent the clean-up work that becomes necessary after a century of operations.
During its up and down history, the mill struggled with old age, a lack of investment, and changing markets.
Coming to the rescue of what was once known as Phoenix Steel were owners with ties to authoritarian regimes, the latest a Russian oligarch.
The first buyer was China’s government-owned steel company, which bought the mill thanks in part to efforts by former Lt. Gov. S.B. Woo. It limped along under the new owner, who dubbed the mill Citisteel. It helped that the company knew how to operate in bare-bones situations, aided by the region’s ample supply of scrap steel.
Things changed a bit when a company financed with private equity bought the mill and made minor improvements.
Owners were rewarded handsomely when Evraz, controlled by a Russian oligarch Roman Abromovich, paid half a billion dollars for a mill on its last legs.
Decades earlier, Abramovich had been in a key position as a commodities trader and regional governor. As the former Soviet Union fell apart, he snapped some of the nation’s vast mineral resources at bargain-basement prices.
Unlike some of his fellow oligarchs, Roman had his eyes on the west and formed Evraz as a publicly-traded company based in London.
Much of Evraz remains in operation. Last year, the company prospered as mineral prices soared.
However, the Claymont mill had long ago fallen victim to the 2009 financial crisis, imports and some say high electricity prices. Evraz wasted no time in selling the Delaware site. Any hope of a new state-of-the-art mini-mill had long ago been dashed by capital markets uninterested in such investments.
Roman continues to prosper. He owns one of world’s largest yachts reportedly with a missile defense system and one of the UK’s most notable soccer clubs. And unlike a couple of his fellow billionaires, he never ran afoul of Vladimir Putin. Putin is believed to demand a piece of the action from each oligarch and may well be one of the world’s richest men.
This morning we learned that Abromovich – who flew back to Russia when the invasion was launched, in all likelihood under orders from Putin – will lead negotiations with Ukraine. It is a job with its share of risks for Abromovich. Putin, who left Moscow for the Urals, is angered by the invasion’s setbacks.
Earlier, Abromovich turned over control of the Chelsea soccer club to a charitable foundation he formed. He may be in Russia for a while. Russian aircraft are barred from European airspace. His new $300 million Boeing 787 jet will have trouble finding parts under recently imposed sanctions.
Meanwhile, shares of Evraz are trading at $2.19 down from a high of $10 in June 2021. Shares recovered a bit when the oligarch did not emerge as a sanctions target, perhaps due to his western holdings.- Doug Rainey, chief content officer.
