COMMERCIAL DISPATCH
By Rachel Eide
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
THE NOT-SO-LITTLE STEEL MILL ON THE PRAIRIE
Tuesday's ribbon-cutting at SeverCorr was as much a celebration for Gov. Haley Barbour's re-election campaign as it was a shindig for the steel mill's grand opening.
And that shouldn't come as a surprise, since the steel company wants to make sure Barbour stays in office to help with an upcoming expansion of the already billion-dollar facility.
A crowd of more than 250, plus SeverCorr's 360 blue hardhat-wearing employees, was on hand to recognize the company's accomplishment of going online only two years after construction began.
The governor was flanked by SeverCorr Chief Executive Officer John Correnti and Alexey Mordashov, CEO of Russian steel giant SeverStal, SeverCorr's major shareholder, on a stage strategically positioned over four rolls of SeverCorr steel, appropriately backlit in blue, the steel-maker's corporate color.
Mordashov had flown in that morning to nearby Golden Triangle Regional Airport in a Swiss-registered aircraft, one of 10 planes carrying dignitaries for the SeverCorr event.
Correnti started out the proceedings by going through a lengthy thank-you list of everyone who participated in “this startup in the middle of the prairie,” from shareholders, to local, state, regional and federal officials, to utility providers, and to contractors and customers.
SeverCorr's highly publicized falling-out with the Columbus-Lowndes Development Link over funding issues for infrastructure development adjacent to the mill back in February seemed long forgotten, as Correnti had nothing but praise for Link CEO Joe Higgins.
“He grabbed a-hold of this project like a bulldog with a bone, and he didn't let go until the finish line,” Correnti said.
Special accolades went to Republican state Sen. Terry Brown for his equally tenacious support. “If SeverCorr had a parade, Sen. Terry Brown would be holding the flag,” Correnti said.
He also praised the Board of Supervisors for its “leap of faith” in agreeing to help the previously unknown startup company make its home here.
Correnti's voice broke with emotion when he thanked the people of Lowndes County for their support and good will, and he invited everyone present to come back to the mill in the spring for a public grand opening celebration. ...
Correnti's praise for Barbour was effusive. “Leadership drips off him with a capital L,” the SeverCorr CEO said. “He better be our governor, or we'll be taking steps backward instead of forward.”
“We need your continued support,” Correnti told Barbour and the other officials in the crowd, “in order for phase two to move on and become a reality.” The mill addition, estimated at $500 million, will boost production annual production from 1.7 to 3.4 million tons of steel and increase the facility's workforce from the current 360 employees to 450.
Although Barbour asserted, “This is not about party, it's about progress,” Correnti gave a nod to GOP lieutenant governor candidate and current state auditor Phil Bryant, seated next to the SeverCorr CEO's wife, Dawn, near the front of the audience. ...
Earlier in the day, Barbour got to ceremonially forge some steel in SeverCorr's electric arc furnace, which was captured on video and shown on a large screen adjacent to the stage during the ceremonies. The mid-day speeches concluded with a ribbon-cutting by the governor and the two steel magnates, followed by a catered, white-tablecloth luncheon and afternoon mill tours for the guests, rounding out the pleasant menu of celebratory activities.
“This is a great day for the Golden Triangle and a great day for the state of Mississippi,” Barbour told the crowd, noting, “We are replacing low-skilled, low-paying jobs with high-tech, higher-paying jobs.”
With successes like SeverCorr and the Toyota plant behind him, the incumbent governor, despite Democrat opponent John Eaves Jr.'s advertising barrage, will no doubt easily carry North Mississippi and appears poised for another four years in office.
“I look forward to the future,” he told the SeverCorr crowd. “This is going to be a great ride for Mississippi ...”
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