For many, the mention of the steel business in the United States prompts thoughts of a polluting, inefficient, dying industry that saw its best days decades ago.
The American Iron and Steel Institute is working to change that perception.
Since last year, the Washington-based institute has pushed forward with an ambitious multimedia campaign to change the image of the steel industry in the United States, both among the general public and onCapitol Hill. The group kicked off the second phase of its marketing blitz last month.
“The industry went through a real crisis period from 1998 to 2003,” said Andrew Sharkey, president and chief executive officer of the institute. “That was largely the result of an onslaught of subsidized imports [primarily from China]. What really came out of that period is a very significant restructuring of the North American steel industry.”
“In 2004, the industry returned to profitability,” he continued. “We feel like for the first time we have a really good story to tell.”
Part of this story is that the industry has cleaned up its practices and improved its environmental record.
It has also improved its efficiency and is equipped to better compete in the global market.
“The feeling is that there is a perception among opinion leaders … that the industry was old, inefficient, not globally competitive,” Sharkey said. “We felt as if this was the opposite of what the new industry projected.”
Sharkey said the marketing campaign is not focused on a specific legislative issue, but to convince lawmakers to take a second look at an industry that he believes many consider to be past its prime. Specifically, he wants to bring to light the competitive disadvantage the U.S. industry faces due to government subsidizing of foreign steel.
“We want them to address the subsidy problem,” he said. “We can compete with any country in the world, but we can’t compete with government.”
“We’ve done all the right things as an industry,” Sharkey added. “We just need some support.”
