Renco Group

Ownership of the Sparrows Point steel mill in Baltimore County was officially transferred on Thursday from Severstal North America, a subsidiary of a Russian steel and mining company, to the New York-based Renco Group Inc., company officials said. The Renco Group bought the steel mill, as well as mills in West Virginia and Ohio, in a $1.2 billion deal that was struck earlier this month. Renco has said it plans to bring an unspecified number of workers back to Sparrows Point, after most of the mill's operations were idled in July and nearly 1,000 workers were laid off. The company has said it would resume making steel next month.

The federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. is suing the Renco Group — parent of bankrupt RG Steel — for allegedly attempting to "evade liability" for the steelmaker's pension obligations. The agency is seeking $97 million from the New York holding company, which created RG Steel in 2011 to buy the Sparrows Point steel mill and other facilities. RG Steel rapidly failed and sought bankruptcy protection last May. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in New York on Monday, alleges that Renco sold 24.5 percent of the steelmaker, of which it had been sole owner, in January 2012 with the "principal purpose" of avoiding pension liabilities.

The federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. is suing the Renco Group — parent of bankrupt RG Steel — for allegedly attempting to "evade liability" for the steelmaker's pension obligations. The agency is seeking $97 million from the New York holding company, which created RG Steel in 2011 to buy the Sparrows Point steel mill and other facilities. RG Steel rapidly failed and sought bankruptcy protection last May. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in New York on Monday, alleges that Renco sold 24.5 percent of the steelmaker, of which it had been sole owner, in January 2012 with the "principal purpose" of avoiding pension liabilities.

The Sparrows Point steel mill will have more time to find buyers — two to four weeks extra — under an agreement hammered out Thursday in the bankruptcy case. Owner RG Steel's unsecured creditors had contended that the July 27 deadline to close a deal, just two months after the company filed for bankruptcy protection, was so tight that it would harm the chances of finding a buyer to pay fair value and restart the facilities being idled. The terms of the new deadline were outlined in court papers Thursday.

The Russian owner of the Sparrows Point Steel Mill said Wednesday it is selling the Baltimore County plant — once vital to building the company's U.S. footprint and to Maryland's manufacturing industry — to the Renco Group because the business isn't profitable enough. The sale is part of a $1.2 billion transaction, expected to close later this month, that also would transfer Severstal plants in Warren, Ohio, and Wheeling, W.Va., to Renco. The deal would be the fourth ownership change at the plant since Bethlehem Steel declared bankruptcy in 2001.

The struggling Sparrows Point steel mill could be sold within the next six months, mill owner RG Steel said Monday. "We're not going to be specific at this time," said Bette Kovach, an RG Steel spokeswoman, as she confirmed comments by two company executives that potential buyers were eyeing the Baltimore County plant, as well as others owned by the firm. Speaking last week to the Baltimore chapter of the Association of Women in the Metal Industries, Jerry Nelson, RG Steel's chief commercial officer, said that "people have expressed interest" in acquiring some RG Steel plants and that "I think it's safe to say everything is on the table.

The tin mill operation at the Sparrows Point steel plant in Baltimore County will begin its shut down later this month and be entirely suspended by the end of April, according to a letter from the top union representative for the tin mill. "I met this morning with management to discuss the present and future plans for our Tin Mill," wrote Michael Baskerville in a letter with Friday's date to mill workers. "The Tin Mill is being put into what is called Asset Preservation Mode, because of the loss of annual contracts.

Sparrows Point has shut down steelmaking operations as the Baltimore County plant struggles to pay its bills and win back customers, workers said Friday. Elizabeth "Bette" Kovach, a spokeswoman for Sparrows Point owner RG Steel, did not return several calls to confirm shuttering of the mill, which employs more than 2,200 workers. But analysts and workers said that managers began meeting with employees Thursday to tell them not to report to work next week. The shutdown comes nine months after RG Steel bought the steel mill from Russian company Severstal.

The owner of the Sparrows Point steel mill has told state unemployment insurance officials that about 720 workers at the Baltimore County plant are being furloughed and are expected back on the job March 4. Managers started telling workers last Thursday not to show up for work this week in what was described then as an "indefinite" layoff, plant employees told The Baltimore Sun. The plant's owner, RG Steel, did not give Maryland officials notice...

The Sparrows Point steel mill stumbled into bankruptcy for the second time in 11 years as its owner filed Thursday for Chapter 11 protection from creditors as it prepares to idle operations and cut nearly 2,000 jobs at the plant next week. RG Steel LLC said in documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware that it owed more than $1 billion and had run out of cash, giving the first look at the privately held company's troubled finances. It also has $1 billion in assets. The company is seeking a buyer for Sparrows Point as well as its two steel plants in Wheeling, W.Va., and Warren, Ohio, and other steel-related operations, as it copes with a "liquidity crisis.

Four years ago, the purchase of the Sparrows Point steel mill by OAO Severstal stirred hopes among steelworkers, their families and the community. Last year, the appearance of new owners Renco Group Inc. and its subsidiary, RG Steel, did, too. Four times in the past decade, expectations have periodically been raised in similar fashion. Might the next owners turn things around and provide the needed investments to make Sparrows Point competitive again? Each time, those hopes have been dashed and a parade of managers proved themselves unequal to the task.

The Sparrows Point steel mill stumbled into bankruptcy for the second time in 11 years as its owner filed Thursday for Chapter 11 protection from creditors as it prepares to idle operations and cut nearly 2,000 jobs at the plant next week. RG Steel LLC said in documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware that it owed more than $1 billion and had run out of cash, giving the first look at the privately held company's troubled finances. It also has $1 billion in assets. The company is seeking a buyer for Sparrows Point as well as its two steel plants in Wheeling, W.Va., and Warren, Ohio, and other steel-related operations, as it copes with a "liquidity crisis.

It's deja vu at Sparrows Point. The Baltimore County plant once again faces wholesale layoffs and a possible sale. The same story has played out every couple of years for the past decade at the steel plant, whose future remains in limbo. The revolving pattern of new owners and layoffs that began when longtime owner Bethlehem Steel declared bankruptcy in 2001 leaves some questioning how much more the Sparrows Point plant can take and remain viable. "How many lives does a mill have?"

The struggling Sparrows Point steel mill could be sold within the next six months, mill owner RG Steel said Monday. "We're not going to be specific at this time," said Bette Kovach, an RG Steel spokeswoman, as she confirmed comments by two company executives that potential buyers were eyeing the Baltimore County plant, as well as others owned by the firm. Speaking last week to the Baltimore chapter of the Association of Women in the Metal Industries, Jerry Nelson, RG Steel's chief commercial officer, said that "people have expressed interest" in acquiring some RG Steel plants and that "I think it's safe to say everything is on the table.

RG Steel LLC is cutting the salaries of managers and executives, including those at Sparrows Point in Baltimore County, because of weak economic conditions. The company sent a letter to employees Monday that said it would temporarily slash the pay of salaried workers by 10 percent beginning May 1. Company executive pay was reduced by 25 percent. RG Steel will also stop contributing to the 401(k) plans of the employees affected. "We view this as temporary until the company can get on better financial footing," said spokeswoman Bette Kovach.

The tin mill operation at the Sparrows Point steel plant in Baltimore County will begin its shut down later this month and be entirely suspended by the end of April, according to a letter from the top union representative for the tin mill. "I met this morning with management to discuss the present and future plans for our Tin Mill," wrote Michael Baskerville in a letter with Friday's date to mill workers. "The Tin Mill is being put into what is called Asset Preservation Mode, because of the loss of annual contracts.

RG Steel LLC is cutting the salaries of managers and executives, including those at Sparrows Point in Baltimore County, because of weak economic conditions. The company sent a letter to employees Monday that said it would temporarily slash the pay of salaried workers by 10 percent beginning May 1. Company executive pay was reduced by 25 percent. RG Steel will also stop contributing to the 401(k) plans of the employees affected. "We view this as temporary until the company can get on better financial footing," said spokeswoman Bette Kovach.

Four years ago, the purchase of the Sparrows Point steel mill by OAO Severstal stirred hopes among steelworkers, their families and the community. Last year, the appearance of new owners Renco Group Inc. and its subsidiary, RG Steel, did, too. Four times in the past decade, expectations have periodically been raised in similar fashion. Might the next owners turn things around and provide the needed investments to make Sparrows Point competitive again? Each time, those hopes have been dashed and a parade of managers proved themselves unequal to the task.

A letter from the owner of the idled Sparrows Point steel mill assuring customers that some operations are to resume will be welcome news, at least in the short term, an industry observer said Wednesday. The letter — dated Tuesday and first reported by industry newsletter Steel Market Update — was the first communication to customers since mill owner RG Steel closed down its blast furnace just before Christmas and then notified state officials that it was laying off about 720 workers through March 4. John Packard, founder of the Steel Market Update newsletter and website, said: "That's very important to their customers because customers don't buy slabs; customers are buying finished steel.

The owner of the Sparrows Point steel mill has told state unemployment insurance officials that about 720 workers at the Baltimore County plant are being furloughed and are expected back on the job March 4. Managers started telling workers last Thursday not to show up for work this week in what was described then as an "indefinite" layoff, plant employees told The Baltimore Sun. The plant's owner, RG Steel, did not give Maryland officials notice...