NEW LEADERSHIP. After the retirement at year-end of James Wainscott as president and chief executive officer, AK Steel is starting 2016 with a new CEO — Roger Newport — and a new President — Kirk Reich. Wainscott continues in the role of chairman. The new management team is acting urgently to return the company to sustainable profitability, says new Chief Financial Officer Jaime Vasquez.
NEW STRATEGY. A new strategy is being rolled out that cuts back on sales and production for the spot market for carbon steels and instead, focuses on production of value-added, differentiated steel products that fetch higher sales prices, according to the company.
PRODUCTION MOVES. Pressured by lower steel prices which AK Steel attributes to unfairly priced steel imports, the steelmaker idled one of its three blast furnaces in December in Ashland, Ky. Saying that the two remaining blast furnaces will be tested this year in Middletown and Dearborn, Mich., CEO Roger Newport implied some of those orders from Kentucky will be shifted to these other steel plants.
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