These beams were used to create many of our cities great bridges (golden gate, george washington, jamestown bridge etc) and buildings (85% of New Yorks skyline is Beth Steel). The biggest producer of steel during world war II the company thrived and at one point was turning out a naval warship a day. Unfortunately the big execs at the company neglected to change and thought the processes used would last forever despite modernization. On March 28th of 1998 the last operating blast furnace (#3) closed for good. Automation, failed market strategies, foreign imports, and domestic competition all played significant roles in the demise. In 2001 Bethlehem Steel filed for bankruptcy and in 2003 the remnants of the company were acquired by International Steel.
...more to come
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