National Steel Corporation

The National Steel Company of 1899 (a U.S. Steel predecessor) had no relationship with the National Steel Corporation of 1929 other than the name.

Incorporated in New Jersey on February 27, 1899, had a capital stock of $27 million par $100 7% preferred ($26 million outstanding) and $32 million par $100 common (all outstanding).^[2] The remaining $1,000,000 of preferred stock were issued on April 28, 1899 to the Oliver & Snyder Steel Co. in exchange for the entire $100,000 stock of the Rosena Furnace Co. and associated properties.^[a]

All of the companies acquired produced basic Bessemer steel with the exception of the Buhl Steel Co. who produced basic open hearth steel, but also had to buy ingots on the market to cover their own needs.^[4]

The United States Steel Corporation was incorporated on February 25, 1901. It offered a premium of $125 of its new 7% preferred stock for each $100 par value of National Steel preferred stock and a similar $125 premium for each $100 par of National common stock.

The Detroit Iron & Steel Company was a predecessor to Great Lakes Steel Corporation and in 1902 built a greenfield blast furnace plant on Zug Island, the first modern blast furnace plant in the state of Michigan.

The company was incorporated in Michigan on April 24, 1902, and issued 75,000 par $10 7% preferred and 75,000 par $10 common shares (split 2-for-1 on July 16, 1917). Issued $400,000 5% 10-year bonds dated May 2, 1904, due $40,000 annually from 1907 to 1916.^[30] Retired those bonds only^{[citation needed]} three years later and broke even on cumulative preferred dividends in 1907.^[31][32][33] Issued $600,000 15-year 5% bonds dated July 1, 1909 (at construction of second blast furnace), due annually $40,000 till July 1, 1925.^[l] Paid 4% per year dividend on common stock until 1917, then 2.5% quarterly (10% annual - 20% when considering the stock split!) and also paid a few extra dividends.

• President: Daniel Rhodes Hanna, since 1918^[35] Howard Melville Hanna Jr.^[36][37]

The joint venture included:

• M. A. Hanna & Co
• Solvay Process Company (owned 30 adjoining byproduct coke ovens)
• Detroit capitalists^[38][39][40]

The furnace had a capacity of 300 tons of foundry iron per day, 30 additional coke ovens were built concurrently and there were plans to eventually have 180 ovens.^[41] This was the first modern coke-filled blast furnace built in the state of Michigan.^[42] Riter-Conley had the contract for the furnace, Russell Wheel & Foundry (Detroit) for auxiliary structures. The furnace was 78x17.5ft and the 4 stoves were 83x20ft.^[43] There were 120 coke ovens in 1905.^[44][45] The furnace was blown in on February 15, 1904^[46] and in 1911 rebuild as a modern thin-lined, water cooled furnace.^[47] The B furnace (80x18.5ft; 300tpd, Arthur G. McKee type), directly adjoining to the east of A, was begun in early 1909 and blown in on July 21, 1910.^[48] The plant was located on the north east corner of the island.^[m]

In 1917 the #Detroit Furnace Company was acquired.

On May 1, 1920, the company was kicked off the Detroit Stock Exchange for failure to disclose operational and financial information.^[50]

On November 1, 1920, Detroit Iron & Steel was among several companies that merged to form the Hanna Furnace Co. (Delaware). Its two blast furnaces had a capacity of 685 tons per day.^[51]

The furnaces were relined: No. 1 in 1905,^[52] 1909,^[53] ...

Only three of the companies (names in bold) were relevant to the National Steel Corporation, the others were effectively dissolved before, their plants apparently having become technologically obsolete and no longer economically viable or no longer worthy of needed investment. Although in the case of the Buffalo Union Furnace Co. the company survived, but not its original plant.

More information Company, Location ...

Companies consolidated by Hanna Furnace Co.^[95]

Company	Location	BF	Iron Tpd
Detroit Iron & Steel Co.	Zug Island	2	685
United Iron & Steel Co.	West Middlesex, Pa.	2	735
	Leetonia, Oh.
The Fannie furnace was one of 3 stacks of the Wheeler Furnace Co. of Sharon, Pennsylvania, whose adjacent furnace in West Middlesex was named Ella. Fanny was blown in on Oct 13, 1873 and rebuilt in 1885.[96]: 24  The 150tpd furnace, idle since 1896 was taken over by the recently organized Reed Furnace Co.[q] in 1899.[98] The Cherry Valley Iron Co. (Pittsburgh) obtained ownership of the plant on Apr 5, 1901.[99][97][100] [...] The furnace was dismantled in 1929.[101] 41.17261°N 80.45663°W / 41.17261; -80.45663[102] Leetonia, on the crossing of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway and the Niles and New Lisbon Railroad (branch of Cleveland & Mahoning Valley RR), was situated near deposits of high quality coking coal. William Lee was co-founder of the Leetonia Iron and Coal Company[r] and the namesake of the town.[104] The first furnace was built in 1867 and torn down in 1890. The second furnace was built in 1968 and rebuild in 1883 to a capacity of 50,000tpa.[96] The Cherry Valley Iron Company[s] was the successor to Leetonia Iron & Coal and took over their 2 blast furnaces and the adjacent rolling mill in 1873 and production restarted after a period of idleness.[106] The No. 1 furnace ranked #15 among 30 active Ohio blast furnaces in 1874, producing 4,498 of the total 192,016 tons (2.34%).[107] Cherry Valley had assumed a debt of $800,000 in 1873 and in 1879 defaulted on this debt.[108] Business was continued relatively seamlessly by a new company, the Cherry Valley Iron Works.[t][110] In 1899 the rolling mill was taken over by Republic Iron & Steel Co.[111] In 1900 the Cherry Valley Iron Company of Pittsburgh[u] took over the 200-ton furnace.[112] In 1904 the furnace was torn down and rebuilt (by Riter-Conley[113]), the number of beehive coke ovens doubled to 200.[114] [...] The furnace was rebuilt in 1924 and produced about 13,000 tons per month. The Davison Coke & Iron Co. took it over as a long-term lease in April 1929.[115] It was dismantled in 1936.[116] 40.88091°N 80.75467°W / 40.88091; -80.75467[117] The United Iron & Steel Co., incorporated on Nov 27, 1906, took over the business of the Cherry Valley Iron Company on Feb 8, 1907. The 2 furnaces had a combined capacity of 650 tons per day, additional property included 200 beehive coke ovens in Leetonia, iron ore properties in the Mesabi range and coal lands in the Connellsville Coalfield.[118][119] In July 1909 M. A. Hanna & Co entered into an agreement with the company by which they would operate the two plants and sell their outputs.[120]
Penn Iron & Coal Co.	Dover, Oh.	1	450
The Tuscarawas Coal and Iron Co.[v] tore down their Fairfield furnace and replaced it with the 14,000tpa Dover furnace in 1878-79.[122] ... The first installation of (24) Roberts-type byproduct coke ovens was built at the plant. The type was invented by Arthur Roberts and M. W. Ditto of Chicago.[123] ... The furnace, acquired on Oct 18, 1929 by the Valley Furnace Co. and abandoned as of Dec 31, 1929,[101] was considered permanently abandoned in 1931.[124] 40.51959°N 81.47942°W / 40.51959; -81.47942[125]
Buffalo Union Furnace Co.	Buffalo, NY.	3	>1,000
A 4-year lease had been obtained by M. A. Hanna & Co on July 1, 1920, together with a 20-year purchase option. M. A. Hanna & Co. already were the sales agent for BUFCo. and held substantial stock interest when the lease was taken.[126] This lease was continued when the Hanna Furnace Co. was incorporated, albeit it had become a 40-year lease with a 20-year purchase option.[w][128] The lease was given up Nov 20, 1927 and the "Hamburgh Street Plant" reverted to BUFCo.[101] At the same time, Hanna Furnace Co. bought BUFCo. and consolidated it with the Rogers-Brown Iron Co. plant, continuing both businesses under Buffalo Union Furnace Co. control.[129] BUFCo. was renamed Hanna Furnace Corporation on Apr 22, 1930.[130] The three furnaces ("A", "B" and "C") were first blown in on Feb 25, 1893, Aug 12, 1899 and Jun 18, 1901.[131] By 1919 the company considered them becoming obsolete in competition with recently built 600-1,000 ton furnaces.[x] Operation of the "C" furnace was discontinued in April 1925, and that of the "A" furnace in January 1928. The "B" furnace was still in operation on Jan 15, 1930, but was slated to be in its final campaign.[127] The Buffalo Union Furnace Company was incorporated on Nov 2, 1900 as the consolidation of the Buffalo Furnace Co.,[z] the Union Iron Works and the Buffalo Charcoal Iron Co.[aa] (each owning one furnace) with Daniel Rhodes Hanna president,[136] succeeded in 1909 by Frank Burkett Baird,[137] who was the original organizer of the three companies.[137][138] 42.86333°N 78.85826°W / 42.86333; -78.85826 [139]
Donner-Hanna Coke Corp	Buffalo
Incorporated May 15, 1917 in New York[140] as the Donner Union Coke Corp, name changed Apr 16, 1924.[141] Originally financed and owned by the United States government, which had a particular interest in the byproduct Toluol needed for explosives production amidst World War 1; built and intended to be operated pursuant to a public-private joint venture agreement of May 29, 1918.[142] Construction was suspended after the armistice and was resumed in April 1919.[143] Hanna Furnace Co. owned 50% of the stock (3,501 of 7,002 no-par shares). Batteries 1-3 consisted of 150 Koppers ovens[140] of 11.5 tons capacity each and run on a 14.3-hour coking time schedule (252 ovens pushed per day; ca. 1,000,000 tons per year). The plant began operations late in 1920, serving 3 furnaces of Buffalo Union Furnace Co. and 2 furnaces of the Donner Steel Company.[144] The No. 4 battery was built in 1930.[145] One battery of 15 ovens rated at 114,000tpa was completed in 1943.[146] 36 new ovens were built in 1951.[147] 42.85218°N 78.8409°W / 42.85218; -78.8409[148]
Hollister Mining Co
...and companies later acquired
Rogers-Brown Iron Company	Buffalo	4	1,400
The Rogers-Brown Iron Co. on May 1, 1927[149] defaulted on their $4,000,000 20-year 7% (NYSE-listed[150][151]) bonds due May 1, 1942. The Hanna Furnace Co. bought the bonds for 40 cents on the dollar and so obtained the property in 1927.[ab] The Buffalo & Susquehanna Iron Company was incorporated in New York on May 17, 1902 and on its 50-acre tract in Buffalo built two blast furnaces, blown in on Sep 27, 1904 and July 5, 1905 and having a capacity for 600-700tpd of foundry pig iron.[153] The Stock was equally divided between William Arthur Rogers{{efn| Also organized and was president of the Tonawanda Iron & Steel Co.[154][155] portrait: [156] Was president of the Punxsutawney Iron Company (one blast furnace at 40.94114°N 78.9824°W / 40.94114; -78.9824[157]) until 1912.[158]} of Rogers, Brown & Co[ac] and Frank H. and Charles W. Goodyear of the Buffalo & Susquehanna Railroad Company, which at the time was adding many miles to their line to establish a connection between certain north-west Pennsylvania coal fields[af] and Buffalo.[169] The capital stock of $1,000,000 was sold at par for cash.[170] The new ship canal was formally opened in April 1905.[171] The Rogers-Brown Iron Co. was incorporated in New York state on Dec 27, 1909.[172][173] The capital stock of Buffalo & Susquehanna Iron was acquired and a merger was completed in April 1910.[174] The company concurrently acquired adjoining land from the South Buffalo Canal & Dock Co. and on the combined 86-acre property set out to construct two new blast furnaces with a total additional capacity of 700tpd. William A. Rogers was president, Charles W. Goodyear was a director (Frank H. Goodyear had died in 1907).[175] The No. 3 furnace was blown in Feb 5, 1912, the No. 4 furnace on Aug 1, 1912.[176] William Silliman Rogers became president in 1923.[177] The company faced serious and abrupt financial difficulties in 1921.[ag] While a handsome $400,000 (8%) of dividends on common stock were paid in 1920, this was the last common dividend ever paid by the company. The last preferred dividends were paid in the first half of 1921. With the exception of 1923 every year ended with a deficit after depreciation and interest charges.[ah] Under a rescue plan proposed in October 1925 to reassure holders of the 7% 1922 bonds, Rogers-Brown Iron Co. sold its Susquehanna mine in the Mesabi range to the Susquehanna Ore Co.,[ai] who as part of the deal assumed two senior bond issues that were (and continued to be) secured by mortgage on the blast furnace plant and the stocks of the mining subsidiaries:[aj] $995,000 remaining of the $3,000,000 sold in 1902 and $2,698,000 remaining of the $4,500,000 sold in 1910 and these bonds were not in default when Rogers-Brown Iron Co. went bankrupt in 1927 and were not relevant in the liquidation. The Susquehanna mine was a large and valuable deposit, but also a drain on resources unless operated at high capacity. On the downside it was released from securing the 1922 bonds, which is why bondholders had to approve the rescue plan.[186][187] The plan became effective Jan 1, 1926. M. A. Hanna & Co. became operator of the Susquehanna mine at Hibbing[ak] and also of the remaining Rogers-Brown iron mines at Iron River.[al][195] A major reason for the company's decline contradicting the prosperity of the Roaring Twenties was its high cost of coke. In a last ditch effort it was proposed to capture some byproduct in their beehive coke ovens using a relatively cheap conversion experimentally operating at 4 of their ovens. Buffalo was not a great market for coke oven gas and Rogers-Brown had not made the transition to byproduct coke ovens and had fallen behind the competition.[149] 42.83381°N 78.84916°W / 42.83381; -78.84916[196][am] Typical Number of Employees (ca. 1922)[151] Buffalo plant 550 Susquehanna iron mine 73 Munro iron mines 235 Coal mines 796 Total 1,654 Rogers-Brown 7% 1922 bonds Price Range[an] Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 1922 100 High 100 97+3⁄4 97+7⁄8 96+1⁄2 97 96+1⁄2 95 93+1⁄8 93 Low 97+1⁄2 97 96+1⁄8 95 95 94+3⁄4 93+7⁄8 93 1923 93 High 93 90 91+1⁄2 90+1⁄2 90+1⁄2 89+1⁄2 86 84+1⁄2 82+1⁄2 86 86+5⁄8 84+1⁄2 80 Low 92+1⁄2 89+1⁄4 90 90 88+1⁄4 87+1⁄2 85 82 80 80 83+1⁄8 82 1924 90 High 87+1⁄2 90 89+1⁄2 85+1⁄2 8 80 79+1⁄2 78+3⁄4 76+1⁄2 76+1⁄4 75+1⁄2 84+3⁄8 70 Low 82 83+1⁄2 85+1⁄2 80 70 75+1⁄8 74+1⁄2 76 74+1⁄2 75+1⁄2 73 75 1925 83+1⁄2 High 83+1⁄2 83+1⁄2 82 70 66 76+3⁄4 68 70 65+1⁄2 80 79 79 60 Low 82+1⁄8 83 73+3⁄4 65 64 63+7⁄8 61+1⁄4 60 63 61+3⁄4 65 71+1⁄8 1926 73+3⁄4 High 72 73+1⁄2 73+3⁄4 70 71 55 53 53+1⁄2 55 52+1⁄8 52+3⁄8 51 49 Low 68 71 67+1⁄2 65+1⁄2 55 51+1⁄4 50+1⁄8 49+1⁄2 49+7⁄8 50 49+3⁄4 49 1927 50 High 50 47+3⁄4 44 38+3⁄4 38 25+1⁄4 37 39+3⁄8 39 24 Low 49+7⁄8 46+3⁄4 38 35+3⁄4 24 24+7⁄8 25+7⁄8 37+1⁄8 37+1⁄8 Iron Ore Shipments by Mine (tons) Range Menominee Mesabi Marquette Munro Iron Mining Co Year Hiawatha [204] Munro [205] Chicagon [206] Rogers [207] Susquehanna [208] ???[209] 1893 1,683 1894 0 1895 1,201 1900 11,008 1901 20,355 1902 74,596 1903 53,828 [ao]8,739 1904 38,288 32,332 1905 9,704 92,183 1906 [ap]20 47,454 [aq]20,984 1907 0 46,834 137,207 1908 138,190 27,773 182,352 1909 136,739 23,241 243,049 1910 128,884 20,022 176,869 1911 116,736 9,303 [ar]108,947 147,741 1912 220,106 20,100 149,619 583,910 1913 160,510 18,508 137,002 904,019 1914 91,369 0 114,848 [as]27,080 906,913 1915 93,455 0 155,711 53,158 618,498 1916 187,070 17,621 100,640 81,842 764,249 1917 62,847 46,960 90,786 117,323 609,198 1918 176,962 53,031 109,574 84,196 569,630 1919 86,138 30,919 82,655 50,341 459,749 1920 125,030 45,971 135,700 94,061 545,746 [ag]1921 41,503 0 83 0 0 1922 126,885 35,263 48,744 193,845 473,818 1923 146,257 idle 199,028 617,616 1924 196,427 218,698 494,603 1925 263,054 215,093 206,872 1926 191,716 254,175 528,500 1927 169,755 285,922 632,345 1928 171,062 179,927 505,094 1929 208,960 323,883 606,124 Total 3,400,338 576,254 1,234,339 2,378,572 10,933,076 Sykesville Coal Mine Year Coal Coke Beehives Men Days Active Accidents Total Local Use Shipped to Market Coal Used Made Active Total Mine Ovens Fatal NF 1904 7,485 6,625 0 860 0 n/a 100 81 236 0 [213] 1905 122,905 14,532 1,369 107,004 72,619 200 308 283 1 7 [214] 1906 109,807 14,643 1,728 93,436 63,426 240 170 0 2 [215] 1907 190,660 17,121 11,760 161,779 115,476 235 289 6 [216] 1908 194,059 13,745 55,806 124,509 85,422 269 227 2 [217] 1909 283,196 19,763 84,344 179,089 123,108 307 295 9 [218] 1910 254,149 20,153 52,671 181,316 123,171 288 265 3 [219] 1911 220,140 20,991 11,141 188,008 126,181 270 251 21 [220] 1912 205,963 19,377 24,921 161,665 108,382 267 243 0 1 [221] 1913 211,297 22,448 7,055 181,794 116,910 [at]400 287 242 [222] 1914 410,082 40,844 478 368,760 268,243 462 256 2 3 [223] 1915 488,756 33,449 0 455,307 318,643 510 303 1 5 [224] 1916 405,335 26,184 5,824 373,327 263,666 371 421 289 275 1 1 [225] 1917 418,064 26,852 8,362 382,750 266,579 393 428 293 284 4 6 [226] 1918 385,450 25,079 10,167 350,204 240,747 383 423 290 281 3 0 [227] 1919 302,599 21,263 34,322 247,014 170,100 349 438 238 207 1 1 [228] 1920 371,121 23,843 16,424 330,854 237,064 366 408 293 296 2 6 [229] 1921 163,206 15,747 2,561 144,898 99,298 285 358 158 162 0 1 [230] 1922 192,564 17,036 4,629 170,899 115,093 389 387 170 170 2 [231] 1923 397,852 26,167 6,416 365,269 255,012 394 423 281 295 1 1 [232] 1924 262,375 18,610 3,976 239,789 162,305 398 433 189 210 0 [233] 1925 365,185 28,838 3,647 332,700 221,633 415 232 305 1 5 [234] 1926 191,780 14,363 11,690 165,727 111,980 374 398 138 134 n/a [235] Tyler Coal Mine Year Coal Coke Beehives Men Days Active Accidents Total Local Use Shipped to Market Coal Used Made Active Total Mine Ovens Fatal NF 1904 51,111 1,250 49,861 0 0 n/a 100 343 52 0 2 [236] 1905 102,142 3,809 1,329 97,004 56,649 200 282 193 1 0 [237] 1906 204,725 5,814 8,427 190,485 104,589 400 449 208 [238] 1907 290,093 8,512 3,831 277,750 152,378 507 253 0 2 [239] 1908 229,798 9,770 89 219,339 125,679 467 187 [240] 1909 367,852 16,433 0 351,419 201,193 617 281 1 [241] 1910 301,825 13,849 287,976 161,617 577 255 0 1 [242] 1911 330,173 15,133 9 315,031 174,642 553 263 1 [243] 1912 316,253 14,874 291 301,088 171,506 543 254 0 4 [244] 1913 327,938 14,901 312,746 186,290 581 282 0 [245] 1914 315,977 14,655 0 301,322 177,339 659 231 [246] 1915 452,914 18,533 434,381 261,640 723 295 0 12 [247] 1916 333,722 14,715 319,007 190,306 354 516 265 256 0 8 [248] 1917 246,220 11,692 234,528 138,612 254 370 273 259 4 [249] 1918 250,538 11,835 238,703 134,342 284 387 285 279 2 [250] 1919 226,737 10,909 27,540 188,288 105,100 316 431 232 199 [251] 1920 241,642 15,942 31,337 194,363 115,224 232 342 290 208 1 [252] 1921 49,436 4,028 0 45,408 26,753 264 394 63 54 0 [253] 1922 60,645 6,062 54,583 31,631 297 352 77 73 [254] 1923 221,198 23,277 5,205 192,716 127,603 290 377 250 260 2 0 [255] 1924 76,259 9,246 1,550 65,463 39,422 196 321 75 102 0 1 [256] 1925 30,135 3,982 2,763 23,390 14,085 190 233 48 50 [257] 1926 167,305 16,766 13,262 137,277 85,395 200 269 246 227 1 n/a [258] Buffalo & Susquehanna Steamship Co Name Type Launched Builder Frank H. Goodyear 416ft Aug 23, 1902 American Shipbuilding Company Lorain sank after collision with steamer James B. Wood 35 miles off Pointe Aux Barques (Lake Huron) May 23, 1910 with 17 dead.[259] Stephen M. Clement 500ft 8,500ton[au] May 20, 1905 AmShip Lorain [260][261] Hugh Kennedy 552ft 10,000ton Jan 26, 1907 AmShip Lorain [262][261] Buffalo Steamship Co[av] William C. Agnew 10,400ton bulk freighter + passenger Feb 11, 1911 AmShip Lorain [264][261] Frank H. Goodyear 600ft 12,000ton Apr 26, 1917 Great Lakes Engineering Works [265] During the winter season with passage through the Great Lakes ore route blocked the ships could be used as floating warehouses.[266] Boland & Cornelius bought the 4 ships (40,900 tons) in September 1922 and now had 17 steamers (145,000 tons) and were sixth largest vessel operator on the Great Lakes.[261]

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Incorporated July 8, 1916 in Ohio.^[140]

Michigan Steel Corp produced sheet steel for the automobile industry. It was effectively the first finishing department of the later Great Lakes Steel Corp steel works and was apparently quite successful as an independent company from 1923 till 1931.

The company issued $500,000 in 15-year 6.75% bonds dated May 1, 1923, as collateral a sheet steel plant of 36,000 tons per year capacity valued at ca. $1 million.^[296] Incorporated in New Jersey on September 23, 1922^[294] with George Rupert Fink president, the Ecorse, Michigan sheet mill plant on 40 acres (42.2369°N 83.1536°W / 42.2369; -83.1536 (Michigan Steel Corporation sheet mill (est. 1923))^{[297]: 17 [ay]}) and built since December 1922,^[298] began production on July 5, 1923, first and foremost as a supplier of the automobile industry. The capacity of the plant more than doubled between 1923 and 1928 (to 180,000 tons^[294]). The company issued $1,250,000 10-year 6% bonds dated November 1, 1928, to redeem all remaining $239,500 of the 1923 bonds, for plant additions and working capital (increased to $2,208,000 May 1, 1930^[295][299] and called for redemption November 1, 1931.^[300]). The company also had 220,000 no par shares authorized and outstanding; 22,000 originally issued for ($1,000,000^[301] in) cash and split 10-for-1 in July 1928;^[294] 50,000 made available in an initial public offering^[302] at $50 per share in August 1928.^[303] With over $12,000,000 market capitalization as of October 1928,^[293] was traded on the Detroit Stock Exchange from October 1928 until February 17, 1931^[304][305] and on October 20, 1928, began paying a quarterly dividend of 62+1⁄2 cents.^[306] The company had previously paid dividends on the 22,000 shares in each of the 5 years 1924-1928, a total of $53.75 per share.^[294] The stock traded on the New York Curb Exchange for a few months and was listed on the NYSE from end of April 1929^[307] till January 27, 1931.^[308]

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Incorporated on February 23, 1929.^[140]

Large amounts of sand had to be brought to the 275 acres of marshland in Ecorse, Michigan, to raise it sufficiently above water level.^[318]

The National Steel Corp. (NSC) was a holding company, incorporated in Delaware on November 7, 1929.^[321] It had an authorized capital of 3,000,000 shares and 2,080,000 were issued in exchange for:

1. 1,120,000 shares or 4.7 NSC shares for each (of 237,720 outstanding^[322]) par $100 share of the Weirton Steel Company
2. 560,000 NSC shares for shares of certain Hanna subsidiaries
3. 400,000 NSC shares exchanged 1:1 for no par common shares of Great Lakes. Great Lakes shareholders also received warrants for up to 180,000 additional shares at fixed strike prices.^[bb][1]

National Steel thus became the 6th largest steel company of the United States with a capacity for 3,500,000 tons of iron ore, 1,750,000 tons of pig iron and 2,000,000 tons of steel ingots.^[324]

In January 1931 NSC purchased all assets and assumed all liabilities of the Michigan Steel Corp (dissolved January 15, 1931) in exchange for cash and securities in the neighborhood of $12 million.^[bc]

The entire outstanding share capital of these companies was owned by NSC:

• Weirton Steel Co.
• Weirton Coal Company
• The Hanna Furnace Corp (incorp. 1920 in Delaware)^[bd]
• The Hanna Furnace Corp (New York)^[be]
• The Hanna Iron Ore Company (Delaware)^[bj]
• The Producers Steamship Company^[bk]
• Great Lakes Steel Corp
• Michigan Steel Corp (Delaware)
• Midwest Steel Corp^[bl][326]

NSC raised capital with $40 million 25-year 5% bonds dated April 1, 1931.^[326] The debt was refinanced in 1935 and 1939 at successively lower interest rates while the maturity date (1965) remained unchanged.^[bm]

On August 5, 1931, NSC completed its $36.5 million expansion program, among which was the $29 million steel plant of the Great Lakes Steel Corporation.^[320]

During 1933 all outstanding 2,156,832 shares of no par value were exchanged 1:1 for shares of $25 par.^[339] The authorized capital in 1939 was still 3,000,000 shares and there were then 2,199,822 outstanding.^[337] Effective March 30, 1950, the common stock was split 3-for-1.^[340]

The post-World War II years brought about record profits for the company as steel was in high demand. The company continued to post healthy profits in the 1970s, although the latter half of the decade saw some sharp and turbulent profit slumps. The increasing consumption of imported steel was often an attributed problem. It acquired United Financial Corporation, in 1979, adding another sundry item for its portfolio. United Financial was the parent company of Citizens Savings & Loan Association of San Francisco, which was the seventh‐largest savings and loan in the United States.^[380]

Beginning in 1980, the company reported a serious loss of demand and with it profits in its core steel business. A roller coaster earnings surge the next year crashed down the year after that due to a further increase in imports and low demand.^[381] In 1983, shareholders agreed to create National Intergroup, a holding company, and merge the steel business as one many units into it. The corporate reorganization was a further step to an already initiated arrangement that started in 1982, which broke the company into six independently managed units. The move was intended to better administer the company which had become diversified away from steel into aluminum and financial services. That same year, the workers of the Weirton mill purchased their operation from National Steel, forming an independent employee-owned corporation.^[382]

In February 1984, Nippon Kokan K.K., a major Japanese steel producer, acquired 50% of National Steel from National Intergroup for US$292 million. Later in 1990, the Japanese firm would claim another 20% share from National Intergroup, which was eager to sell the steel business.^[383] The company stumbled through troubled years as it shed thousands of workers and faced bankruptcy in 1991.

Amidst the savings and loan crisis in 1981, West Side Federal Savings and Loan Association of New York and the Washington Savings and Loan Association of Miami were acquired and merged with Citizens, creating the country's largest federally chartered savings and loan association. The Federal Home Loan Bank Board approved the first interstate consolidation of savings and loan associations largely because National Steel was willing to provide $75 million in cash to the new association, whose combined assets would be $6.8 billion with 136 branches in the three states.^[384][385] The branches were rebranded as First Nationwide Savings in 1982,^[386] when National Steel sold a 19% share of First Nationwide to the public.^[387] Ford Motor Company acquired First Nationwide for $493 million in 1985.^[388]

National Steel spun-off its computer data subsidiary Genix which spun-off the current-day Corporate Election Services, a market leader in proxy statement and proxy fight services based in suburban Pittsburgh.

The company announced in 1991 that it would re-locate its longtime Pittsburgh headquarters to the South Bend, Indiana, area.^[389]

In 1994, the company caused a stir in the industry when it terminated nearly all of its vice presidents, President and CFO, and replaced them by hiring nearly the complete executive staff of the U.S. Steel Gary Works, including V. John Goodwin who was named the new President of National Steel.^[390] U.S. Steel was incensed and filed a lawsuit which the two companies settled out-of-court in 1995.^[391] However these drastic leadership changes were short-lived, as Goodwin resigned in 1996, the result of a bitter dispute with the Japanese ownership and by 1998 nearly all of the U.S. Steel expatriates had departed from National.^[392]

In 2000, when an internal auditor, tipped off by an informer, discovered that longtime executive James Squires was receiving millions of dollars in kickbacks from scrap suppliers. In August 2001, Squires was convicted in Federal Court of receiving kickbacks, and in 2002 was sentenced to two years imprisonment. Later he was forced to pay National approximately $3,000,000 in a civil lawsuit.^[393][394]

The company filed for bankruptcy protection in 2002, the result of a deep depression in the industry.

The company would never again enjoy extended periods of profit and finally in March 2002, it filed for bankruptcy with only $2.3 billion in assets for $2.6 billion in debt. After a bidding war between AK Steel and U.S. Steel, in May 2003 the remains of National Steel were sold to U.S. Steel for $850 million and the assumption of $200 million in debt.^[395] US Steel continues to operate National's Keewatin, Minnesota mining operation and pellet plant under the new name of Keewatin Taconite or Keetac.

• ^ "National Steel Net $3.91 a share", Wall Street Journal, March 21, 1931
• ^ "One Steelmaker Earns Dividends", Wall Street Journal, June 30, 1932