The Inland Steel Company was an American
steel
Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
company active in 1893–1998. Its history as an independent firm thus spanned much of the 20th century. It was headquartered in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
at the landmark
Inland Steel Building
The Inland Steel Building is a skyscraper located at 30 W. Monroe Street in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the city's defining commercial high-rises of the post-World War II era of modern architecture.Schulze, Franz & Harrington, Kevin (2003). ' ...
.
Inland Steel was an integrated steel company that reduced
iron ore
Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...
to steel. Its sole steel mill was located in
East Chicago, Indiana
East Chicago is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 29,698 at the 2010 census. The city is home of the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal, an artificial freshwater harbor characterized by industrial and manufacturing ac ...
, on the
Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal
The Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal is an artificial waterway on the southwest shore of Lake Michigan, in East Chicago, Indiana, which connects the Grand Calumet River to Lake Michigan. It consists of two branch canals, the 1.25 mile (2 km) L ...
and a large landfill protruding out into
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...
. The steel mill's shoreline location enabled it to take in steelmaking commodities, such as iron ore,
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when dea ...
, and
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
, by
lake freighter
Lake freighters, or lakers, are bulk carrier vessels that operate on the Great Lakes of North America. These vessels are traditionally called boats, although classified as ships.
Since the late 19th century, lakers have carried bulk cargoes of m ...
. Throughout much of its life, Inland Steel operated its own fleet of bulk carrier vessels.
Inland Steel was founded by Jewish owners because of anti-Semitism in the steel industry, and thereby provided employment to other Jewish workers.
Firm history
Inland Steel was founded in 1893 through the purchase, by financier Philip Block, of a small failed
Chicago Heights, Illinois
Chicago Heights is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 27,480 at the 2020 census. In earlier years, Chicago Heights was nicknamed "The Crossroads of the Nation". Currently, it is nicknamed "The Heights".
Geogra ...
steel mill, ''Chicago Steel Works''. The Block family led Inland Steel's recovery and, in 1901, Inland Steel pledged to raise more than $1.0 million to build an
open-hearth mill in East Chicago. This expansion caused the firm to grow more than tenfold in size, from 250 workers in 1897 to 2,600 in 1910.
Inland Steel continued to face heavy competition from
U.S. Steel
United States Steel Corporation, more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an American integrated steel producer headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with production operations primarily in the United States of America and in severa ...
, the Pittsburgh-based giant that at that time possessed a dominant share of the U.S. steel market. World wars increased steel demand and pushed Inland Steel forward. In 1917 (World War I), Inland Steel's production broke the 1.0-million ton (0.9m tonne) mark for the first time; and in 1930 the firm completed a new office headquarters in East Chicago, which survives. By World War II the Chicago-area steelmaker had 14,000 employees and was producing 3.4 million tons (3.0m tonnes) per year.
Starting in the 1950s, Inland Steel specialized in
cold-rolled sheet and strip steel for
motor vehicle
A motor vehicle, also known as motorized vehicle or automotive vehicle, is a self-propelled land vehicle, commonly wheeled, that does not operate on Track (rail transport), rails (such as trains or trams) and is used for the transportation of pe ...
s. In 1956–1957, the successful firm constructed a new corporate headquarters, the Inland Steel Building, in downtown Chicago. Employment at the Indiana Harbor mill rose toward its peak of 25,000 in 1969.
The decline in the U.S. steel industry, starting in 1970, affected Inland Steel. Foreign steel companies were increasing their presence in the world steel market. During the late 1970s Inland Steel formed several
joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...
s with
Nippon Steel
was formed in 2012 by the merger of the old Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal. was established in 1970 by the merger of Fuji Iron & Steel and Yawata Iron & Steel. Nippon Steel is the world's third largest steel producer by volume as of 2019.
...
to create I/N Tek and I/N Kote, but profitability continued to be difficult to attain. After a series of internal reforms, Inland rapidly became so profitable in 1997 that, uniquely amongst U.S. integrated steel mills, they became desirable for acquisition. Ispat International acquired Inland Steel in 1998 eventually becoming
ArcelorMittal
ArcelorMittal S.A. is a Luxembourgian multinational steel manufacturing corporation headquartered in Luxembourg City. It was formed in 2006 from the takeover and merger of Arcelor by Indian-owned Mittal Steel. ArcelorMittal is the second larg ...
.
As of 2020, the assets of Inland Steel are now part of
Cleveland-Cliffs
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., formerly Cliffs Natural Resources, is a Cleveland, Ohio-based company that specializes in the mining, beneficiation, and pelletizing of iron ore, as well as steelmaking, including stamping and tooling. It is the largest f ...
.
Further reading
* Moise Dreyfus Obituary – http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1937/05/13/page/18/article/moise-dreyfus-estate-valued-at-11-3-millions
* Book, 50 Years of Inland Steel, 1943
* Booklet, “The Story of Inland Steel”, 1964
* Booklets, “Inland Steel at 100: Beginning a Second Century of Progress”, 1993.
* Perry, W.A., Booklet, “History of Inland Steel Co. to 1971", b
* Perry, W. A., Booklet, “A History of Inland Steel Company and the Indiana Harbor Works” (ca. 1980)
* Perry, W.A (1979) ''A History of Inland Steel Company And The Indiana Harbor Works'' (booklet)
* Perry, William A. & Saran, Sam H. Booklet, ''A History of Inland Steel Company and the Indiana Harbor Works (1992).
* Perry, William A. & Saran, Sam H. Booklet, ''A History of Inland Steel Company and the Indiana Harbor Works(1993).
* Wilder, John Watson Book, Inland Steel, 1893–1943.
Northwest Regional Collection, Calumet Regional Archives
Indiana University
Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana.
Campuses
Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI.
*Indiana Universit ...
References
External links
Artist's Rendering, Inland Steel Company, Chicago Heights, Illinois plant, 1894 The Digital Collections of IUPIU University Library.
*Th
Michael Tenenbaum papers
at Hagley Museum and Library
The Hagley Museum and Library is a nonprofit educational institution in unincorporated New Castle County, Delaware, near Wilmington. Covering more than along the banks of the Brandywine Creek, the museum and grounds include the first du Pont ...
consist of a series of his writings and speeches and a small number of Inland Steel Company publications.
Arcelor Mittal page on Indiana Harbor – former Inland Steel plant
{{Authority control
Steel companies of the United States
Ironworks and steel mills in the United States
Manufacturing companies based in Chicago
East Chicago, Indiana
American companies established in 1893
Manufacturing companies established in 1893
Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1998
ArcelorMittal
American companies disestablished in 1998
1893 establishments in Illinois
1998 disestablishments in Illinois
Defunct manufacturing companies based in Illinois