Putting the Pedal to the Metal
Nothing says permanence and power quite like an iron bridge girder or some other muscular piece of metal. But that solid image also makes manufacturers that churn out the hard stuff seem old-school, rather than innovative.
That's changing. Metals makers thriving today are doing so by getting bigger and more global, while carving out new businesses. The industry is growing in booming markets like China and finding new ways to manage the roller-coaster price moves of raw materials and energy.
THE JOURNAL REPORT
See the full Trends report.Here are some of the major trends reshaping the industry.
1 > METALS WITHOUT BORDERS
Metal making has long been viewed as a matter of national pride in many countries, an industry to be nurtured and protected. As recently as 1980, 60% of the globe's steelmaking capacity was owned by governments. But that mind-set is melting away.
In essence, the business is being transformed from one in which each national market is dominated by domestic or regional players into a truly global business with global companies. The epitome of this trend is the world's largest steel company in terms of production, Mittal Steel Co. of the Netherlands, which has grown rapidly in recent years by acquiring formerly state-owned steel operations in Kazakhstan and Poland, as well as assets in developed markets like the U.S. As a result of such moves, only about 40% of world steel capacity today is government-owned. (Most steelmakers in China are government-owned.)
Pittsburgh's U.S. Steel Corp. has purchased steel plants in Serbia and Slovakia, while companies from emerging markets, such as Russia's Severstal, are buying operations in the U.S. The steelmaking giant Arcelor SA of Luxembourg was formed in recent years by combining three Western European companies into one powerhouse.
2 > KING OF THE MOUNTAIN
Steelmakers are bulking up to improve their odds in the emerging global competition.
Within five or 10 years, "there should be two to three companies with 80 million to 100 million tons of capacity," says Lakshmi Mittal, head of Mittal Steel. His company could be one of the first to produce 100 million tons of steel a year, equivalent to the annual production of the U.S.
Meanwhile, the world's No. 2 steelmaker, Arcelor, is aggressively expanding into Brazil, where raw materials are plentiful and costs are lower. South Korea's Posco, once the largest steelmaker in the world and now ranked No. 5, plans to build a massive steel plant in India.
3 > PUSHING THE ENVELOPE
Metals makers are doing more than ever to expand beyond generic commodity markets.
Aluminum maker Alcoa Inc. is developing new aerospace alloys such as aluminum lithium and composites that contain layers of glass, resin and aluminum, known as Glare, which prevent cracking in airplane tails. Steelmakers are rolling out roofing material for houses in hurricane-prone regions and new varieties of smooth stainless steel for kitchen appliances.
This trend is a global phenomenon, with steelmakers in China and Eastern Europe investing in galvanizing and other steel-coating lines in an attempt to expand beyond production of cheaper, construction-type steels and into the higher-priced steels used to make cars and washing machines. Stainless-steel and titanium panels are even being sold as architectural flourishes, for the roofs of airports and art museums such as the Guggenheim in Bilbao, Spain.
Material-science researchers at metals companies and universities world-wide keep pushing the envelope in the search for metals that have more strength, fewer defects or other novel features. One example: the quest for a metal-and-glass composite that could end up being used in ship hulls, because it would be stronger, lighter and more durable than steel.
The Guggenheim in Spain uses titanium panels
4 > RETHINKING THE CAN
Even as it expands into new markets, the metals industry continues to face a constant battle against interlopers on its traditional turf, including the packaging sector, where plastic bottles have snatched market share. But metals makers are counterattacking.
U.S. can makers, for instance, are developing microwaveable tin food canisters with easy-to-open lids, beverage cans that heat themselves at the push of a button, and tin packaging in the shapes of squares, bowls or kettles rather than the traditional cylinders.
The Canned Food Alliance, funded by the metals industry, says cans lock in freshness and nutrition better than rival materials, and it is promoting the benefits to shoppers, hoping they will be willing to pay more for the snazzy steel packaging. "The obituary for the can has been written several times, but it ain't happening," says Tom Hale, senior vice president for sales and marketing at Ball Corp., a can maker.
Aluminum makers also are fighting back, introducing aluminum beer bottles, made of material thicker than traditional aluminum cans, for brands such as Iron City and Heineken. Makers also have introduced uniquely shaped, slim aluminum cans for wines and for energy drinks such as Red Bull.
5 > A FOCUS ON COSTS
The search is on for cheaper energy to cut production costs. Many companies are looking to shift operations to places where energy is more plentiful and less expensive. Alcoa has idled several of its U.S. aluminum smelters and is building a plant in Iceland run by cheap hydroelectric power.
Labor costs are also being squeezed, both in developed and developing markets, as companies find new production methods that allow fewer workers to make steel and other metals more safely and efficiently. Japan's Nippon Steel Corp. and Korea's Posco are among those investing large amounts of capital in new technologies and processes to cut costs. "You must keep costs down always," says Nippon Steel's CEO, Akio Mimura. "Otherwise, you can never survive."
6 > HAVING IT ALL
The recent surge in commodity prices has revitalized an old model in metal making: The vertically integrated enterprise.
This year the price of iron ore has surged 72% and the price of coking coal, another steelmaking ingredient, has risen 120%. As a result, companies such as U.S. Steel and Mittal Steel, which have their own iron-ore mines, have found themselves better positioned than competitors like Arcelor and Nippon, which have few iron-ore reserves. The same is true of global aluminum companies such as Alcoa, which owns bauxite mines, alumina refineries and aluminum smelters.
Companies in Asia such as Posco are buying equity in iron-ore mines in Australia and Brazil, while Mittal is pursuing iron-ore mines in politically risky places such as Liberia. Russian steelmaker Mechel is rapidly acquiring coal mines in that country. Nucor Corp. in Charlotte, N.C., and Steel Dynamics Inc., in Fort Wayne, Ind., are developing alternative iron-making technologies so they won't be so dependent on scrap metal, which is currently a primary ingredient in the electric furnaces they use to make steel.
7 > CHINA'S DEMANDS
The emergence of China as the world's top steel market is reshaping the global industry. China consumes about 30% of the world's steel, followed by the more developed markets of Japan and the U.S. Other developing countries where steel consumption is rising include Russia, Ukraine, Brazil and India.
Many analysts believe China is creating a sort of "super cycle" in metals, a period of growing demand that could last at least 20 years. Tony Taccone, a steel specialist with consulting firm First River in Pittsburgh, says a similar cycle happened between 1946 and 1979.
"Now China, India, Brazil and Turkey are entering the stage of economic development when steel demand thrives because infrastructure is getting built and wealth is reaching levels that allow people to buy cars and washing machines," he says.
Some analysts disagree, suggesting that because most of the growth in demand for steel and other metals in China is centered in cities such as Shanghai and Beijing, it is bound to peter out sooner than many people expect. "When you say China has 1.3 billion people, you should disregard the first billion of those people, because they don't have any money," says Charles Bradford, a New York-based steel analyst with Bradford Research/Soleil Securities. "They are subsistence farmers." He expects rural areas of China to stay poor.
8 > HIRING FROM THE OUTSIDE
In the past, executives at metals companies tended to work their way up from production lines or engineering jobs. But in recent years, a new kind of manager -- often from outside the industry -- has entered the business to take many of the top jobs, bringing new ideas and approaches.
U.S. Steel CEO John Surma spent years as an accountant, while Metal Management Inc. CEO Dan Dienst was an investment banker before he moved up from a board seat to take the helm of one of the nation's largest scrap-metal recyclers.
New York billionaire and bankruptcy specialist Wilbur Ross stepped into the steel industry in 2001, buying up bankrupt companies such as Bethlehem and LTV, balancing the books and forging new labor agreements before selling the assets to Lakshmi Mittal for $4.5 billion in 2004. The Mittals, in turn, have hired former McKinsey consultants and other industry outsiders to help them manage their growing company.
9 > IN SEARCH OF NEW WORKERS
Several companies have also launched ambitious hiring programs to replace an aging work force as global demand increases. U.S. Steel is recruiting 200 engineering and business employees this year, while trade groups such as the American Iron and Steel Institute and the Association for Iron and Steel Technology Foundation have launched scholarship programs and recruiting fairs to sell young students on careers in the industry.
Posco sends some of its up-and-coming executives to the University of Michigan to gain M.B.A. degrees. Russia's Severstal is among others that are focused on finding the best and brightest business minds available, promising them opportunities to quickly move up the ranks to decision-making positions. At the plant level, more companies are requiring more hourly laborers and supervisors to have at least two-year degrees.
Coal companies in West Virginia and Pennsylvania are developing relationships with local and regional universities to train a new crop of mine workers who don't carry pickaxes, but rather are skilled in science and computers.
10 > BUFFING THE IMAGE
While some people view metals as an old-school, smokestack industry, metals companies and associations increasingly are focusing on ways to improve the industry's public image. Companies now talk about "sustainability" and "environmental responsibility," especially the more profitable and well-managed outfits.
The Brussels-based International Iron and Steel Institute has developed a program for the world's steelmakers to report on the environmental quality and safety of their business, including carbon emissions, recycling rates and employee safety data. Some of the institute's member companies are developing new technologies, with the help of top research facilities such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to limit carbon dioxide emissions.
The image of steel and other metals also is getting a boost in the culture at large, as stainless steel and other metals increasingly are being used in theater, art exhibits and dramatic architecture, from "The Bean" sculpture in Chicago's Millennium Park to the Attack Theatre in Pittsburgh's recent production of "Games of Steel," which incorporated metal into a modern-dance routine.
钢铁业－积极创新 重塑形象
没有什么能像钢铁桥梁或其他金属物件那么坚固持久了。但这种强大的形象也使得金属企业大多因循守旧，而不是积极创新。
不过，这种情况正在发生变化。众多的金属企业不但通过主营业务变得更加强大和全球化，而且也在积极拓展新的业务。该行业在中国等蓬勃发展的市场不断发展，并正在寻找新的方式应对原材料和能源价格的大幅波动。
以下是重新塑造该行业的一些主要趋势。
1. 金属无国界
在许多国家里，金属生产长期以来一直被视为是国家的骄傲，并受到扶持和保护。直到1980年时，全球60%的钢铁制造产能还为政府所有。但这种情况正在逐渐变化。
实际上，该行业正在从由国家或地区性企业控制各国市场的格局向真正的全球化企业和全球化业务转变。最能体现这种趋势的就是全球产量最大的公司荷兰Mittal Steel Co.，该公司近年来通过收购哈萨克斯坦和波兰的前国有钢铁业务以及美国等发达市场的资产实现了快速发展。在这种趋势下，目前政府所有的钢铁产能仅剩下40%左右。（中国的大多数钢铁企业都为政府所有。）
匹兹堡的U.S. Steel Corp.收购了塞尔维亚和斯洛伐克的钢铁企业，而来自新兴市场的公司，如俄罗斯的Severstal也在购买美国的业务。近年来，西欧三家企业的合并造就了卢森堡钢铁巨头Arcelor SA。
2. 谁执牛耳
钢铁企业正在积极提高在全球竞争中取胜的可能性。
Mittal Steel的负责人拉克什米?米塔尔(Lakshmi Mittal)说，在五年或十年内，全球将有两至三家产能达到8,000万至1亿吨的钢铁企业。Mittal可能成为首家年产1亿吨钢铁的企业之一，这相当于美国全年的钢铁产量。
与此同时，全球第二大钢铁企业Arcelor正在积极扩大在巴西的业务，那里原材料充足且成本相对较低。韩国的浦项综合制铁公司(Pohang Iron & Steel Co., 简称Posco)计划在印度兴建一家大型钢铁厂。Posco曾是世界上最大的钢铁公司，目前排名第五。
3. 超越潜力
金属企业正在比以往更加积极地向普通金属市场之外的领域扩张。
美国铝业公司(Alcoa Inc.)正在开发新型航空合金，如铝锂合金和玻璃纤维铝合金层板(Glare)，这种材料能够防止飞机尾部断裂。钢铁企业还推出了适合飓风猖獗地区的屋顶材料及用于厨房设备的各种新型光滑不锈钢材料。
这种趋势是一种全球普遍现象，投资于电镀和其他钢铁镀层生产线的中国和东欧钢铁企业希望从生产廉价的建筑类钢材转向用于轿车和洗衣机的高价钢材。不锈钢板和钛板甚至作为建筑装饰材料销售，用于机场和比如西班牙Guggenheim等艺术博物馆的屋顶。
金属企业及全球各大学的材料科学研究人员一直在竭尽全力寻找更坚韧、缺陷更少，或具有其它新奇特性的金属。比如，金属同玻璃的合成材料可以用于船体中，因为它比钢更结实、更轻、而且更耐用。
4. 在金属罐上做文章
在向新的市场扩张之际，金属行业也面对传统领域竞争对手的挤压，如在包装领域中，塑料瓶已经抢占了大部分市场。但是，金属生产企业也在奋起反击。
比如，美国的金属容器制造商就正在开发带有便于打开的盖子、可用于微波炉的镀锡食品罐，还有通过按键自行加热的饮料罐，以及正方形、碗形或锅形的镀锡制品，而不仅仅是传统的圆柱形。
金属行业资助的Canned Food Alliance表示，金属容器比其它材料能够更好地保住新鲜和营养。该机构正在积极向购物者介绍这种好处，希望他们心甘情愿地为这种金属包装支付更高的价钱。金属容器制造商Ball Corp.的销售及营销高级副总裁汤姆?黑尔(Tom Hale)说，金属容器将退出历史舞台的声音多次出现，但这一切至今仍没有发生。
铝制品企业也没有无所作为，它们推出了用比传统铝罐更厚的材料制成的铝啤酒瓶，用于Iron City和Heineken等品牌的啤酒。制造商还针对葡萄酒和红牛(Red Bull)等运动饮料推出了外形独特、瘦长的铝罐。
5. 重视成本
各公司都在寻找更廉价的能源以降低生产成本。它们正在想方设法将业务转移到能源更加充足、价格更低的地区。美国铝业公司已经关停了位于美国的几个铝冶炼厂，在冰岛兴建了一个使用廉价水电资源的工厂。
随著企业发现新的生产方法可以用更少的工人更安全高效地加工钢铁及其它金属，在发达国家和发展中国家，劳动力成本都有所下降。日本的新日本制铁(Nippon Steel Corp.)和韩国的Posco就投入巨资研发新技术、新工艺以降低成本。新日本制铁的首席执行长三村明夫(Akio Mimura)说，必须不断降低成本，否则企业就无法生存。
6. 上中下游兼备
近期大宗商品价格的飙升使过去的一种金属制造模式获得了新生：垂直结构的综合型企业。
今年铁矿石的价格上涨了72%，焦炭价格上涨了120%。因此，U.S. Steel和Mittal Steel等拥有自己铁矿的公司比Arcelor和新日本制铁等几乎没有铁矿的竞争对手处于更有利的位置。全球铝业公司也面临这种情况，比如美国铝业公司就拥有自己的矾土矿、氧化铝冶炼厂和铝厂。
Posco等亚洲企业也在购买澳大利亚和巴西等铁矿石矿的股份，Mittal正在利比里亚等可能存在政治风险的地区收购铁矿。俄罗斯钢铁企业Mechel也在快速收购该国的煤矿。北卡罗来纳州的Nucor Corp和印第安那州的Steel Dynamics Inc.正在开发其它钢铁生产技术，以不再过度依赖于废钢铁。
7. 中国的需求
中国成为世界上首屈一指的钢铁市场，正在改变著全球钢铁业的格局。中国消费了全球大约30%的钢铁，超过日本和美国这些更发达的市场。其他钢铁消费量不断增长的发展中国家包括俄罗斯、乌克兰、巴西和印度。
许多分析师认为，中国创造了金属需求的超长周期，需求的增长可能至少持续20年。咨询机构First River的钢铁业专家托尼?塔科内(Tony Taccone)说，类似的周期曾在1946年至1979年发生过。
他说，现在，中国、印度、巴西和土耳其已进入经济发展阶段，由于基础设施大肆兴建，以及人民的富裕程度达到了购买轿车和洗衣机的水平，钢铁需求旺盛。
部分分析师对此持不同意见，称由于中国对钢铁和其他金属的大部分需求增长都集中在上海和北京等城市，因此降温速度将比许多人的预期更快。Bradford Research/Soleil Securities驻纽约钢铁业分析师查尔斯?布莱德福德(Charles Bradford)说，当你提及中国有13亿人口时，你应该首先去掉10亿人口，因为他们并没有钱。这些人都是处于温饱边缘的农民。他预计中国的农村地区难以迅速摆脱贫困局面。
8. 从外部聘任人才
在过去，金属企业的管理人员基本都是从生产一线或工程岗位逐步提拔起来的。但近年来，一种新的经理人──经常是来自于其他行业──进入到该行业中，担任了许多高层职位，也带来了新的创意和做法。
U.S. Steel的首席执行长约翰?祖尔马(John Surma)曾担任了多年的会计师，而Metal Management Inc.的首席执行长达恩?丁斯特(Dan Dienst)在从董事成为这家全美最大的废旧钢铁回收企业掌门人之前是一位投资银行家。
纽约亿万富翁、企业破产专家威尔伯?罗斯(Wilbur Ross) 2001年进入钢铁行业，收购Bethlehem和LTV等破产企业，实现盈亏平衡，达成新的劳工协议，并于2004年以45亿美元将资产出售给拉克什米?米塔尔。而米塔尔家族则聘用了前麦肯锡公司(McKinsey & Co., Inc.)的咨询师和其他业外人士帮助他们管理不断壮大的公司。
9. 招聘新员工
随著全球需求的增长，一些公司也推出了雄心勃勃的招聘计划，以替代年龄逐渐变老的员工。U.S. Steel今年招聘了200名工程及业务人员，而美国钢铁协会(American Iron and Steel Institute)和Association for Iron and Steel Technology Foundation等行业组织推出了奖学金计划，并组织了招聘会，向年轻学生介绍该行业内的职位。
Posco选送了几位颇有前途的管理人员到密歇根大学(University of Michigan)攻读MBA学位。俄罗斯的Severstal等企业也非常重视寻找最佳、最有前途的企业人才，向他们许诺迅速升迁至决策岗位的机会。在工厂一级，越来越多的企业开始需要更多至少接受了两年制高等教育的工人和主管。
西弗吉尼亚州和宾夕法尼亚州的煤炭公司正在加强同当地和本地区大学的关系，以培养不用镐头，而是精通技术和电脑的新型采矿工人。
10. 改善形象
尽管一些人将冶金视为保守、污染严重的行业，但该行业的企业和协会正在日益重视改善该行业的公共形象。这些企业现在也开始关注“可持续发展”和“环境责任”，尤其是赢利较高、管理完善的企业。
位于布鲁塞尔的国际钢铁协会(International Iron and Steel Institute)为全球钢铁企业制订了报告环境质量和企业安全状况的计划，其中包括碳排放量、回收率和员工安全数据。该协会的一些会员企业正在麻省理工学院(Massachusetts Institute of Technology)这样的一流研究机构的帮助下开发新技术，以降低二氧化碳排放。
钢铁及其它金属行业的形象也普遍在文化领域得到了提升，不锈钢和其它金属越来越广泛地应用于影剧院、艺术馆等建筑中，从芝加哥千禧公园(Millennium Park)的The Bean雕塑，到匹兹堡的Attack Theatre剧院。
