Evraz Oregon Steel Mills

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Evraz Oregon Steel Mills, Inc.
Company type Subsidiary
Industry Steel industry
Founded1926: Launched as Gilmore Steel
1987: became Oregon Steel
2007: Oregon Steel Mills became Evraz Oregon Steel Mills
FounderWilliam G. Gilmore
Headquarters Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Key people
James E. Declusin, President & CEO
Productsrails, structural tubing, pipes
Revenue$1,258 million
Increase2.svg $ 110 million (FY 2005)
Number of employees
2,000 (2006)
Parent Evraz Group LSE:  EVR
Subsidiaries Colorado and Wyoming Railway, Colorado Fuel and Iron, Columbia Structural Tubing [1]
Website www.evrazna.com
Footnotes /references
Financial data [2]

Evraz Oregon Steel Mills is a subsidiary of the Russia steel producer Evraz Group. The company was founded in 1926 in Portland, Oregon, United States. As of 2025, the company has facilities in Oregon and Colorado in the United States; and in Alberta and Saskatchewan in Canada. [3] The company produces items such as structural tubing, pipes, and steel rails.

Contents

History

Oregon Steel began as Gilmore Steel in 1926 when William G. Gilmore started the company. [4]

Thomas Boklund became president of Gilmore Steel in 1982, CEO in 1985, and chairman of the board in 1992. [5] In 1987, the company became Oregon Steel Mills (OSM). [4] It went public in 1988 (trading on the NYSE as OS), launching a series of acquisitions. [5] In 1993, OSM purchased Colorado Fuel and Iron. [6]

In January 2007, Evraz Group S.A. of Russia bought OSM for $2.3 billion. [7] In February 2010, Jim Declusin stepped down as CEO of Evraz Oregon Steel Mills after 4 years in office. [8] In January 2011, the company announced moving its headquarters from Portland to Chicago. [9]

In April 2020, Evraz Oregon Steel Mills stopped operating its Portland spiral pipe mill, leading to 230 permanent job cuts. This decision follows the gas and oil industry's downturn amid the coronavirus crisis. [10] 65 more workers were laid off in June 2020 at its North Portland mill. [11] This pipe mill had closed in 2009 and reopened in 2012 following the nation's boost in natural gas and oil drilling production. [12] The facilities in Oregon were using steel slabs imported from Russia, but importing steel from Russia became much more expensive (25% import tariff) during the Trump administration. [13] Evras Oregon Steel Mill is the only steel sheet mill west of the Rockies. Evraz was the largest carbon emitter of the city of Portland. [14]

As a result of sanctions placed against it as a result of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, on August 10, 2022, Evraz announced its intention to sell its North American assets. [15]

Operations

The company operates a variety of steel production facilities. These include a plate mill at their OSM Rolling Mill at the Portland Steelworks in Portland, Oregon. [16] OSM manufactures armor plating for the U.S. military. [17] Also at the Portland Steelworks is OSM Tubular that makes pipes for use in areas such as oil and natural gas transmission, this plant was closed in 2015. [18] Oregon Steel's Canadian operations also produce tubular steel products. [19] In Oregon, OSM also operates a structural tubing facility, the only producer in the Northwest, this plant was sold in 2015. [20]

In Colorado, OSM's Rocky Mountain Steel subsidiary operates three production facilities. One facility makes rails for railroads, one rods and bars for construction, and the third plant manufactures seamless pipes. These facilities were part of the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company, founded in 1881 and bought by OSM in 1993. [21]

References

  1. "Steel Shape Producers & HSS Producers". American Institute of Steel Construction . Retrieved November 12, 2008.
  2. Oregon Steel Mills, Inc. Hoovers. Retrieved on March 28, 2007.
  3. "Locations". Evraz North America. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
  4. 1 2 Humber, Yuriy (November 21, 2006). "Russia's No. 1 steelmaker buying Oregon Steel Mills". The Seattle Times. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  5. 1 2 Jim Springhetti, Oregon Steel Mills' Boklund dies at 69, OregonLive.com , December 31, 2008
  6. Oregon Steel Mills Inc. reports earnings for Qtr to March 31. The New York Times , May 1, 1993.
  7. Campoy, Ana. Evraz: US committee OKs Oregon Steel Mills acquisition. MarketWatch. Retrieved on March 28, 2007.
  8. Jim Declusin steps down as Oregon Steel Mills CEO, Oregonlive.com, February 6, 2010
  9. Richard Read, Evraz North America moving headquarters from Portland to Chicago, Oregonlive.com, January 20, 2011
  10. Pete Danko, Evraz Oregon Steel Mills cutting 230 jobs in Portland, Bizjournals.com, April 6, 2020
  11. Evraz will lay off another 65 at Portland steel mill amid ‘significant business downturn’, Oregonlive.com, June 10, 2020
  12. Evraz Portland will fire up Oregon Steel mill closed in 2009, hiring 200, Oregonlive.com, October 17, 2012
  13. Polina Ivanova, Russian steelmaker Evraz weighs up new U.S. rail mill, capex soars, Reuters.com, October 19, 2018
  14. Nigel Jaquiss, Inside the Company That Would Pay the Biggest Share of the City’s Carbon Tax, Wweek.com, January 27, 2021
  15. "Russia's Evraz looking to sell North American units". Reuters. August 10, 2022. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
  16. OSM Rolling Mill. Oregon Steel Mills. Retrieved on March 28, 2007.
  17. Oregon Steel sale closes. Portland Business Journal , January 23, 2007.
  18. OSM Tubular Retrieved on March 28, 2007.
  19. OSM Tubular–Camrose. Oregon Steel Mills. Retrieved on March 28, 2007.
  20. Columbia Structural Tubing. Oregon Steel Mills. Retrieved on March 28, 2007.
  21. Rocky Mountain Steel Mills. Oregon Steel Mills. Retrieved on March 28, 2007.

Further reading