Pittsburg, CA: 1910 POSCO/US Steel/Columbia Steel

(3D Satellite)

This plant will close Dec 2023.

Creole Williams commented on the following post
Jeff Samson: Creole Williams that is a good picture of USS Pittsburg Ca. I have worked on the blue cranes and boated on that river.

This photo is of Oyster Point, but it was misidentified as POSCO/USS Pittsburg by several comments. So most of the information in the post is on the Pittsburg mill.

John Blaine posted
This is about the closest thing to a steel mill I’ve seen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Jeff Samson: John Blaine pacific states steel was a big one. Fremont I believe. I worked for USS/Posco, Posco is Korean and sold there half of USS/Posco a few years ago. USS Pittsburg works is closing at the end of 2023. Hope this helps.

Peter Hess: Well, that’s a plant I didn’t know about. When the bridges were constructed the companies had open hearths in South SF. I see three OH in this photo of Oyster Point.

On the other side of the bay there was a four OH mill.

At Pittsburg (without the H) they had (US Steel) there was a BF, COB, (coal was from Mount Diablo) and a series of OH. There were rolling mills in Richmond. There was major ship building in SF from the Civil War and there were Bessemer furnaces, later OH, and hundreds of cupola furnaces. The puddling furnaces were countless, even downtown on Mission Street.

The ESP was invented in the Bay Area by Frederic Cottrell due to the emission from all of the lead smelters in the area. I saw an ESP where he signed his name on a beam.

The rolling mills making cans were plentiful.

Thanks for the photo, post more!!!

The photo is the Oyster Point plant. The plant was making or amending parts for the Golden Gate Bridge, when it was built. Therefore, a US Steel plant. I saw the plant specs and remember it had a small Bessemer and three small OH. The SF airport was built about a mile way. The area became a biotech area. The road in the foreground is 101. Pacific States Steel was in Union City, I visited that plant with the six OH. They purchased a BF and was going to become an integrated plant. The EA steel making changed that. The US Steel plant that is now POSCO had multiple BF, a coke oven battery, rolling mill. The steel from that plant went to the Navy Mare Island shipyard to make vessels. Also, that steel went to the shipbuilding plant that was south of where the Giants play. That plant was in operation since the Civil War. The Met coal was mined on the northeast side of Mt. Diablo, close to the POSCO plant, now closed. I wonder where the source of the ore was. Posco has a great water access. Bethlehem Steel also had a few steel making plants in the Bay Area. I think one was in Alameda. During WW II, the Kaiser Steel plant in Fontana CA provided the sheet steel for the ships. There were smaller mills in Richmond, Oakland, Berkeley, South San Francisco. Only the US Steel plant in Pittsburg CA had a BF. I think the other plants used scrap steel as feedstock. Many incorporated duplexing using a cupola to make steel.

James Torgeson: Peter Hess The GGB was a McClintic-Marshall/Bethlehem project. The Bay Bridge was USS American Bridge.

Peter Hess: James Torgeson thanks. Knew that the competition was between the two. The old bay bridge because the eastern portion was rebuilt after the’89 quake. What a travesty that was. Governor moonbeam wanted a design that only a theologian can love.

Once upon a time Howard Street in SF was chock full of cupola iron works.

Joe Kerner: I don't remember the date but at some point in time it became illegal to make steel in California. You can still process it but you can't make it.

 

3D Satellite

"Today [2010?], UPI manufactures Cold Rolled Annealed, Cold Rolled Full Hard, Hot Rolled Pickled & Oiled, Hot Dipped Galvanized, and Tin Mill products starting from Hot Rolled steel supplied by our owners." Employment peaked during 1950s and 60s at 5,200 men and women and had the most diverse product line of any steel plant in the US. During the 70s and 80s, a Korean company bought 50% of the company and a $450m modernization was completed in 1989. [USS-UPI]

 

Ryan Gotsch posted
1/2 way point for coils in Pittsburg CA
Olan Mills: Are these rolled from imported slabs? Just curious.
Ryan Gotsch: Olan Mills mostly stuff from back east now, used to be mostly from Korea

Extra Credit: a topo map for Oyster Point.

1939 San Mateo Quad @ 62,500

Mendez Martin posted five photos with the comment:

Tomorrow [Nov 30, 2023] sometime time between 9 and & 11am pst this production line will run its last coil.

The Ca Line was completed on in June of 1959 and was started sometime in December of 1959 , initially there were 8 people to a crew consisting of 1) Line laborer  2) stocker tractor 3) Line helper 4) Feeder  5) Recoiler 6) inspector 7) Assistant operator & 8 ) Lead operator .

Top speed for this line was 1650 fpm until 1996 when it was converted from DC to AC then the speed was increased to 1850 fpm and in 1998 again the line speed was increased to 2000 fpm and for a brief period this line was capable 2150 fpm .

The first cut to crews was in 1984 when the inspector job was cut followed by the line laborer in 1988 and stocker in in 1990 and in 2002 tge last person cut and now with all the updates this line was able to increase production with only 4 people. 

Many good men and women work this line in my time here (37+ yrs) saw a lot of them retire and enjoy many years some did not get to enjoy the fruit of their labor but it made it so that they could provide a good life for their families.

And now we are the last of this fine line of production workers in this Continuous Anneling Line in Pittsburg , California…

Donnie Heymig: WOW! 2150 FPM. Max I've gone is 1600. I operate the CA line at midwest steel in indiana.

Sean Stephenson: Bill Malan The entire plant is shutting down after 113 years.

Karl Alspach: Such a gut punch right before the holidays. Best of luck to you and your crew. Sounds like it is a great and efficient operation there in Pittsburg. Looks like USS last blast furnace in Granite City being turned off. Gonna be a bunch more jobs lost.

Curtis Bledsoe: I feel for ya! I was an operator on the East Chicago CA Line when we ran our last coil in 2019. Good luck to all of you!

Chris Heintz: Sad day. I work at USSGCW, they just announced idling most of our plant today. I marked a lot of coils up for your plant coming off our hot mill.

David Taylor: Continuous line I'm assuming? That's pretty impressive. The temper mill I work on used to get over about 4200 fpm. But have slowed down to about 3800 fpm. Depending on the size of work rolls we use. Hope the best for yall.

Guy Arkenau: where does the slabs come from?

Mike Branigan Sr.: Guy Arkenau they convert hot bands that were imported from Korea or sent from USS (most likely Granite City).

Mendez Martin: Mike Branigan Sr. Yes , we were owned 50% by Pohang I & S of Korea. Since 2018 we only get Hot Bands from Granite city . [2018 tariffs on foreign steel hurt this mill.]

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Sal Sbranti posted
44,000 hp driving a5 std, 6 high tandem cold reduction mill capable of producing cold rolled full hard steel in gauges ranging from .008” to .09” and widths from 24” to 56” at speeds up to 7,000 fpm. Sitting idle because USS execs are not thinking right now (I had a lot of other descriptors in my mind but didn’t want to get banned)
[Many of the comments are interesting. Fortunately, it is a public group and you can access them yourself.]