UPI Steel mill (Pittsburg, California)

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The USS-POSCO steel finishing plant is owned and operated by USS-POSCO Industries (UPI), a joint venture company established by U. S. Steel Corporation and POSCO, of the Republic of Korea.

The first Pittsburg steel facility opened in 1910 as a 60-man foundry under the name Columbia Steel. Consisting of one building and a single 150-ton open hearth, the plant furnished steel castings for the dredging, lumber and shipping industries.

In the 1920s, the plant expanded to include the West’s first nail mill, and later, the first hot dip tin mill west of the Mississippi. During the 1930s and 1940s, facilities and equipment were added to help supply major public works projects – the most notable being the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Bridge – and to meet the demand for steel products during World War II.

Over the next two decades, the plant’s single-sheet feed operations were replaced by more efficient cold rolling mills and continuous feed lines. When a pipe mill was added, the Pittsburg facility gained the distinction of having the most diverse product line of any steel plant in the United States.

With the advent of new production processes, increased use of alternative materials (like aluminum and plastic), and growing competition from foreign imports, the Pittsburg plant began faltering. In an effort to improve competitiveness and market share, the facility underwent a reorganization. First, excess product lines were dropped so the plant could focus on its two main products: sheet and tin. In addition, in 1986 U. S. Steel entered into a 50/50 joint venture with Pohang Iron and Steel Company, a partner that could supply high quality raw material for use at the plant. The new partners began a comprehensive modernization program designed to upgrade the processes and equipment of the facility.

The $450 million modernization was completed in April 1989, representing one of the largest investments in manufacturing facilities in California. Because of the modernization, UPI is now among the most efficient steel finishing facilities in the world.

In May 2001, UPI suffered a devastating fire to one of its operating facilities – the Tandem Cold Mill (TCM). The TCM was completely destroyed and had to be rebuilt from the ground up. Showing remarkable resiliency, UPI was able to rebuild the TCM in less than eight months, and it now stands as one of the world’s most technologically advanced mills of its kind.

Today, UPI manufactures cold rolled, galvanized and tin mill products from hot rolled steel. With the support of nearly 1,000 hourly and salaried employees, UPI ships steel daily to more than 150 customers, primarily in the thirteen western states.