Leaders hopeful AK Steel’s name change won’t impact company’s commitment to Middletown

Middletown city leaders and the president of the union at AK Steel don’t believe they will see significant differences after the steelmaker changes its name to reflect new ownership.

Neil Douglas, president of IAM Local 1943, said Lourenco Goncalves, chairman, president and CEO of Cleveland-Cliffs sent out a company wide email last week announcing the name change to Cleveland-Cliffs. In 2020, the Ohio-based company bought AK Steel for $1.1 billion.

Also last year, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. bought the U.S. assets of ArcelorMittal for $1.4 billion. The deal made Cleveland-Cliffs the largest flat-rolled steel producer in North America, officials said.

The name change “makes sense” and Douglas doesn’t believe it will impact operations at the Middletown Works.

“Nothing major,” he said.

A spokeswoman for Cleveland-Cliffs said the company has “undergone significant transformation” with the acquisitions of AK Steel and ArcelorMittal USA assets.

“While we appreciate and respect the legacy AK Steel name, we will be retiring the name and brand over the coming months,” said Pat Persico, a company spokeswoman.

Rick Pearce, president of the Chamber of Commerce serving Middletown, Monroe and Trenton, said although many may be saddened with a change in the name, the chamber looks forward to “a new beginning” and working with Cleveland-Cliffs in the community.

Pearce said building a qualified workforce is a major initiative for the chamber, and it will continue to work closely with the steelmaker and other members to build awareness and supply talent to their workforce.

Since AK Steel was purchased, Douglas said he has seen an increase in production. He said business is “booming” and AK, the third largest private employer in Butler County, is hiring.

Traci Barnett, executive director of the Middletown Community Foundation, said “there is a saying that the only constant in life is change.”

Before there was AK Steel, the steel company was called Armco, she said.

“In the long run what is important is that the company continues its long-standing relationship with the Middletown community,” Barnett said.

The MCF has administered the AK Steel Sons and Daughters scholarship program for decades. This year, the scholarship was changed to the Cleveland-Cliff Sons and Daughters scholarship. She said the scholarship has assisted hundreds of students, locally and nationally, over the years and Cleveland-Cliffs has increased the number of scholarships that will be awarded this year.

City Manager Jim Palenick said Middletown values the more than 120-year history of AK Steel and looks forward to its continued success as Cleveland-Cliffs.

He said Cleveland-Cliffs is “a premier steel manufacturer” that has “a vested interest and commitment” in its Ohio home.

AK Steel has 2,421 employees and trails Cincinnati Financial Corporation and GE Aviation in West Chester as the largest private employers in the county. Douglas said AK Steel has about 1,850 hourly union employees.

AK Steel started operations in 1901 in Middletown and always has been a major contributor to the community. The company opened its $36 million AK Steel Research and Innovation Center off Interstate 75 in 2017, 10 years after the headquarters were moved out of Middletown to West Chester.

There are soccer fields and a band shelter named after AK Steel in Middletown and the company is a major supporter of Light Up Middletown, a holiday lights display; and employees serve on numerous boards and employees volunteer on countless projects.