The global iron and steel industry was transformed during the second half of the twentieth century. Vertically integrated steelmakers had dominated the industry since the advent of Henry Bessemer’s steelmaking process in the mid-nineteenth century, but a group of entrepreneurs in North America, Europe, and Asia built an entirely new industry utilizing electric arc furnaces and ferrous scrap. What were known as mini-mills started out as small modules serving regional customers in the long products sector of the business. Today, the mini-mills have penetrated all segments of the steel industry and are poised for more growth in the coming years of the twenty-first century. America’s Mini-Mill Industry: A Short History tells this fascinating story in rich historic detail and will surely be a definitive work on mini-mills for years to come.
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