34 Facts About Bethlehem Steel

1.

Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

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2.

Bethlehem Steel played an instrumental role in manufacturing U S warships and other military weapons used in World War I and later by allied forces in ultimately winning World War II.

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3.

Bethlehem Steel'storians cite Bethlehem Steel's ability to quickly manufacture warships and other military equipment as decisive factors in American victories in both World Wars.

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4.

Bethlehem Steel survived the earliest declines in American steel industry beginning in the 1970s.

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5.

Bethlehem Steel declared bankruptcy in 2001 and final dissolution in 2003 when its remaining assets were sold to International Steel Group.

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6.

In 1857, what ultimately became Bethlehem Steel, was launched as the Saucona Iron Company in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania by Augustus Wolle.

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7.

Bethlehem Steel returned to America as Whitworth's agent and, in 1885, was granted an extended furlough to pursue this personal interest.

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8.

The Bethlehem Steel Company was incorporated to take over all liabilities of the Bethlehem Iron Company.

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9.

The Bethlehem Iron Company and the Bethlehem Steel Company were separate companies under the same ownership.

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10.

The Bethlehem Steel Company leased the properties that were owned by the Bethlehem Iron Company.

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11.

The United States Shipbuilding Company was in turmoil; its subsidiaries, including the Bethlehem Steel Company, contributed to the United States Shipbuilding Company's problems.

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12.

Bethlehem Steel Corporation was formed by Schwab, who had recently resigned from U S Steel, and by Joseph Wharton, who founded the Wharton School in Philadelphia.

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13.

Bethlehem Steel Corporation became the second largest steel provider in the United States.

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14.

Bethlehem Steel Corporation installed the gray rolling mill and produced the first wide-flange structural shapes to be made in America.

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15.

In 1913, under Broadbent, Bethlehem Steel acquired the Fore River Shipbuilding Company of Quincy, Massachusetts, assuming the role of one of the world's major shipbuilders.

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16.

In 1922, Bethlehem Steel purchased the Lackawanna Steel Company, which included the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad and extensive coal holdings.

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17.

Bethlehem Steel ranked seventh among United States corporations in the value of wartime production contracts.

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18.

Bethlehem Steel hired female employees to guard and work on the factory floor and in the company offices.

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19.

In 1946, Bethlehem Steel signed a contract with mining company LKAB to contribute to the recovery of the post-World War II recovery of the iron ore industry in northern Sweden.

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20.

From 1949 to 1952, Bethlehem Steel had a contract with the U S federal government to roll uranium fuel rods for nuclear reactors in Bethlehem Steel's Lackawanna, New York plant.

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21.

The Bethlehem Steel workers have not been awarded this compensation because the radiation dose involved in processing fresh uranium fuel is low and produces a small risk relative to the baseline risk.

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22.

Bethlehem Steel experimented with continuous casting but never fully adopted the practice.

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23.

Meanwhile, the age of Bethlehem Steel workers were increasing, and the ratio of retirees to workers was rising, meaning that the value created by each worker had to cover a greater portion of pension costs than before.

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24.

Bethlehem Steel's profitability returned briefly in 1988, but restructuring and shutdowns continued through the 1990s.

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25.

In 1991, Bethlehem Steel Corporation discontinued coal mining it had been conducting under the name BethEnergy and the company exited the railroad car business two years later, in 1993.

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26.

In 1992, the Johnstown plants of the Bethlehem Steel, which had been founded in 1852 by The Cambria Iron Company of Johnstown and were purchased by Bethlehem Steel in 1923, were forced into closure.

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27.

Two years later, in 1997, Bethlehem Steel Corporation ceased shipbuilding activities in an attempt to preserve its steel-making operations.

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28.

In 2001 Bethlehem Steel filed for bankruptcy and, in 2003, the company dissolved.

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29.

Bethlehem Steel hired consultants to develop conceptual plans on the reuse of the massive property, and a consensus emerged to rename the 163 acres site Bethlehem Works and to use the land for cultural, recreational, educational, entertainment, and retail development.

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30.

In 2007, the Bethlehem Steel property was sold to Sands BethWorks with plans to build a casino where the plant once stood.

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31.

In 1931 and 1932, Bethlehem Steel manufactured 38 electric multiple unit carriages for the Reading Company.

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32.

From 1923 to 1991, Bethlehem Steel was one of the world's leading producers of railroad freight cars following their purchase of Midvale Steel, whose railcar division was located in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

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33.

Bethlehem Steel manufactured the steel for many of the country's most prominent landmarks:.

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34.

Bethlehem Steel fabricated the largest electric generator shaft in the world, produced for General Electric in the 1950s, and the steel used for the Wonder Wheel in Coney Island.

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