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BY ANDREA HOLECEK
holecek@nwitimes.com
219.933.3316 | Tuesday, March 08, 2005 | (No comments posted.)
Three years after its founding, International Steel Group Inc. is moving managers and changing both its former management structure and its "local decision making" philosophy to a "regional approach."
ISG is in the process of "consolidating operations and centralizing key functions on a corporate and regional level," according to a recent internal memo from Rodney Mott, ISG president and chief executive officer,
To begin the process, ISG is establishing Eastern and Western regions. John Mang, vice president and former ISG Burns Harbor general manager, has been named manager of the Western region and William Brake Jr., who was plant manager of ISG Cleveland, has been named manager of the Eastern region.
James P. Hrusovsky, ISG Indiana Harbor's general manager is moving to the same position at ISG Burns Harbor.
All will all continue to report to V. John Goodwin, ISG's chief operating officer, according to the memo.
ISG Spokesman Charles Glazer said the company changes are a work in progress.
"We hope to have an announcement in the near future," he said Monday.
Ispat Inland Inc. and I/N Kote and I/N Tec will join ISG Hennepin and ISG Riverdale in Illinois and ISG Indiana Harbor and ISG Burns Harbor in comprising the Western region with ISG's other plants making up the Eastern region, said Paul Gipson, president of Local 6787 United Steelworkers of America at Burns Harbor.
"I think it's all a positive move," he said. "I think they've become so large, going from 20-million-ton company to 60 million tons and maybe larger, that it sets the stage to be more marketable."
One of ISG's primary goals has been to create a streamlined organization that would be "competitive in the international arena," Mott's memo says.
"ISG has decided that its goal would be better served by a regional approach," Mott states. "ISG will therefore begin the process of consolidating operations and centralizing key functions on a corporate and regional level."
The Richfield, Ohio-based steelmaker is slated to complete its merger with Mittal Steel Cop. NV later this month or in early April. At that time, its plants will be consolidated with Ispat Inland Inc. to form Mittal USA.
ISG, which was formed in early 2002 to but the steelmaking assets of bankrupt LTV Corp., originally put decision making and performance results at the plant level.
"ISG will establish a decentralized, entrepreneurial culture in which each plant would focus full attention on making quality steel in the most cost-effective and profitable manner possible," the company said in February 2002.
At the time, Mott said each of the plants would have full responsibility for its performance and results, accompanied by local management of core functions including accounting, purchasing, engineering, customer service, and human resources. He also stated that the new culture would enable individual employees to participate in making decisions that affect the success of their respective departments.
In his recent memo, Mott states local plant Human Resources and Labor Relations departments will report directly to Vice President of Human Resources Karen A. Smith, while continuing to support their respective plant location.
"As the organizational review continues, ISG will likely decide to manage additional administrative functions from a regional or corporate level," Mott's memo says. "ISG will announce those decisions as soon as possible once such decisions are made."
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