This is a detailed account of the British and German steel industries' performances during three decades that were marked by radical changes in technology, in sources of raw materials and in product markets. Relying on governmental and corporate archives as well as on the contemporary trade literature, Professor Wengenroth has drawn a meticulous picture of how managements in the two countries met strategic problems raised by these changes. The author does not however, merely trace technological developments; rather he uses them as a backdrop for a contribution to the long-running debate on Britain's relative industrial decline in the late nineteenth century. Was this the result of massive entrepreneurial failure or was it merely the by-product of evolutionary changes that bestowed automatic competitive advantage on latecomers such as the Germans? The author argues a detailed case for the latter scenario and, in doing so, makes a major contribution to the debate on the 'Great Depression'.

This title was first published in 1976

Since the completion of the original writing in 1978, and the publication of this Garland edition in 1987, several important events came to pass which underscored the importance and relevance of the study of the US foreign trade policy toward steel in the late seventies. One can read the story of US trade policy toward steel in 1977-79 as a critical step in the path which has been moving the US from a policy of organised free trade to one where increasing scope is allowed to market forces.

China's emergence as the world's second largest economy has been driven by more than four decades of explosive growth. To support this expansion, China has required massive expansion in its steel production capacity, which is highly correlated to its demand for iron ore imports. The scale and pace of China's iron ore demand shock has pushed the global iron ore market into a historical adjustment. Using economic frameworks, this book brings to bare new data and field observations throughout Asia and Africa to investigate how the rapid growth in China's iron ore demand has affected the organisation and structure of the global iron ore market. The research provides several important contributions to the extant literature including analysis of whether the Big Three Asian market iron ore exporters coordinated to sustain the profits arising from the price boom; estimating the financial impact of the Chinese state's intervention in iron price negotiations; and addressing the concerns arising from the Chinese state's provision of cheap financial support for its companies' iron ore procurement. Offering unique insights into China's economic rise and the structure of the iron ore market, this book will be relevant to students and scholars of resource economics, and the Australian and Chinese economies.

Originally published in 1989. The international steel industry suffered a major decline after the onset of world recession in 1973, perhaps suffering more plant closures and job losses than any other sector. This book analyses the decline, surveying the various factors which have contributed to it, such as changing production strategies, changes in demand and world trade and changing regional production trends. It goes on to examine the impact of decline on steel-making communities, considering the various local, national and international initiatives to assist the affected areas and the way these initiatives have been devised and implemented. The authors conclude that none of these policies has satisfactorily resolved the crisis in the old steel producing areas and that a major crisis in these areas continues. Finally they discuss the social and political options open to these localities for the future.

Originally published in 1948, A History of Cast Iron in Architecture is a comprehensive history of the part that has been played by cast iron in architecture and the allied arts in Britain. Any history of the rise and development of the iron-founding industry becomes virtually a history of the First Industrial Revolution. Examining the use of cast iron by builders and architects from late medieval times to the middle of the 20th Century the authors have also recorded a miniature history of British Industry. The introduction throws light on the early developments of iron-founding. The main sections of the book describe the rise and expansion of the cast-iron industry and its gradually increasing significance in architecture from 1650 to 1945. There are over 500 illustrations.

Originally published in 1989 this study examines some new facets in the development of the iron industry in the USA between 1839 and 1921 through the study of an individaul form, namely the Thoms Iron Company, one of the leading merchant furnace companies. It charts the end of the anthracite iron age and the changes which brought about the advent of open-hearth steel and integrated steel works. The book discusses the problems the managers of the firm faced with the appearance of industrial innovations which tended to undermine their firm's very existence and provided a new set of optimal conditions necessary for the survival of the firm. It provides a clear understanding of the destructive forces of industrial innovation and the place of creative entrepreneurship in the survival of the firm.

This proceedings brings together seventy seven selected papers presented at the 3rd International Conference on Advanced High Strength Steel and Press Hardening (ICHSU2016), which was held in XiaEURO (TM)an, China, during August 25-27, 2016.In this rapid growing market in advanced high strength steel and press hardening, in particularly demand from automotive industry and sustainability community to develop light-weight materials for Body in white or BIW, has motivated us to organize ICHSU2016, soon after the successful conclusion of our ICHSU2015 last year to encourage experts all over the world to get together again to exchange note and ideas as how to move the R&D in press hardening technology forward in the new era.The purpose of holding ICHSU2016 is to satisfy the increasingly urgent requirement of reducing the weight of vehicle structures and increasing passenger safety. This conference arouses great interests and attentions from domestic and foreign researchers in hot stamping field, of the articles accepted, covering almost all the current topics of advanced high strength steel and press hardening technology, which includes materials & testing, modeling & simulation, process design, tribology & tools, equipment and product properties.

As a heavy user of electricity the primary aluminium smelting industry is a leading example of the effects of variations in energy costs. This title tells the story that with the rise in energy costs, three regions-Japan, the United States, and Western Europe -have become high-cost locations for primary aluminium production relative to three other regions-Australia, Brazil, and Canada. First published in 1988, this volume presents an analysis of the public policy choices regarding the aluminium industry and electric power in both low-cost power countries and high-cost power countries. The World Aluminium Industry in a Changing Energy World is ideal for policy makers and students interested in environmental studies.

Originally published in 1989. The international steel industry suffered a major decline after the onset of world recession in 1973, perhaps suffering more plant closures and job losses than any other sector. This book analyses the decline, surveying the various factors which have contributed to it, such as changing production strategies, changes in demand and world trade and changing regional production trends. It goes on to examine the impact of decline on steel-making communities, considering the various local, national and international initiatives to assist the affected areas and the way these initiatives have been devised and implemented. The authors conclude that none of these policies has satisfactorily resolved the crisis in the old steel producing areas and that a major crisis in these areas continues. Finally they discuss the social and political options open to these localities for the future.

Energy management training and solutions are not one size fits all. While some general methods apply, the metals industry has its own unique processes and environments for which a more tailored approach is necessary. Aimed at managers, engineers, and supervisors working in the metals industry, Energy Management for the Metals Industry offers specifics that can help readers in the metals field achieve energy savings for their companies. The book explains general energy management methods and offers approaches germane to the metals industry. It discusses the benefits and reasons for implementing an energy management program and the requirements necessary to begin one. The book covers defining and measuring performance, setting baselines, and benchmarking a plant and its processes. It also discusses analyzing data, identifying projects, improving processes, setting goals, and creating an action plan, while controlling and evaluating progress. Real-world examples highlight concepts and illustrate potential pitfalls.

Lukens Steel was an extraordinary business that spanned two centuries of American history. The firm rolled the first boiler plate in 1818 and operated the largest rolling mills in America in 1890, 1903, and 1918, Later it worked on the Manhattan Project and built the steel beams for the base of the World Trade Center. The company stayed in the family for 188 years, and they kept the majority of their business papers."The Language of Work" traces the evolution of written forms of communication at Lukens Steel from 1810 to 1925. As standards for iron and steel emerged and industrial processes became more complex, foremen, mechanics, and managers began to use drawing and writing to solve problems, transfer ideas, and develop new technology. This shift in communication methods - from 'prediscursive' (oral) communication to 'chirographic' (written) communication - occurred as technology became more complex and knowledge had to span space and time.This richly illustrated volume begins with a theoretical overview linking technical communication to literature and describing the historical context. The analysis is separated into four time periods: 1810 to 1870, when little writing was used; 1870-1900, when Lukens Steel began to use record keeping to track product from furnace, through production, to the shipping dock; 1900-1915, when written and drawn communication spread throughout the plant and literacy became more common on the factory floor; and 1915-1925, when stenographer typists took over the majority of the written work. Over time, writing - and literacy - became an essential part of the industrial process.

In the early 1970s, the post-World War II boom in world metal consumption came to a halt. As time passed, it became clear that what many first thought to be a cyclical downturn was instead a long-term, substantial decline in world metal demand. In this volume, first published in 1990, editor John E. Tilton and four fellow scholars of mineral economics analyse the causes and consequences of this decline and the prospects for future growth in world metal demand. This book will be of interest to students of business and environmental studies.

In 1900, Sheffield was the tenth largest city in the world. Cutlery "made in Sheffield" was used across the globe, and the city built armored plate for the navy in the run-up to the First World War. Today, however, Sheffield's derelict Victorian shop floors and industrial buildings are hidden behind new leisure developments and shopping centers. Based on an extended period of research in two local steel factories, this book combines a lively, descriptive account with a wide-ranging critique of post-industrial capitalism. Its central argument is that recent government attempts to engineer Britain's transition to a post-industrial and classless society have instead created volatile post-industrial spaces marked by informal labor, industrial sweatshops and levels of risk and deprivation that divide citizens along lines of gender, age, and class. The author discovers a link between production and reproduction, and demonstrates the centrality of kinship relations, child and female labor, and intra-household exchanges to the economic process of de-industrialization. Paradoxically, government policies have reinvigorated working-class militancy, spawned local industrial clusters and re-embedded the economy in the spatial and social structure of the neighborhood.

This study focuses on technology transfer in the steel mini-mill industry. It identifies two central issues: how capacity is built and how demand is sustained, developing a three-dimensional perspective to bring into sharp focus the desirability and necessity of technology transfer. The three-dimensional perspective focuses on the changes in the marketplace for flat steel sheets, the responsiveness and sensitivity to these market changes, and applying the best available technology to obtain a high quality product. Prior to this study, technology transfer has been examined in a bivariate relationship, namely, how technology transfer contributed to the development process in developing countries and Newly Industrialized Countries (NICs). The framework formulated in this study showed that Japan was lagging behind all the steel-producing countries because, like the NICs, it imported the physical and organizational technologies that fostered its prosperity. Based on primary and secondary research, this study revealed that high levels of operational efficiency and sophisticated product quality were achieved through continuous improvement culminating in Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) consisting of Real Time Process Control. On the other hand, the research also revealed that China based the improvement of its steel industry on self-reliance combined with judicious selection of foreign collaboration. The theoretical underpinnings of the crucial issues in this study led to the development of an interactive model of technology transfer based upon stock and flow variables.

China's emergence as the world's second largest economy has been driven by more than four decades of explosive growth. To support this expansion, China has required massive expansion in its steel production capacity, which is highly correlated to its demand for iron ore imports. The scale and pace of China's iron ore demand shock has pushed the global iron ore market into a historical adjustment. Using economic frameworks, this book brings to bare new data and field observations throughout Asia and Africa to investigate how the rapid growth in China's iron ore demand has affected the organisation and structure of the global iron ore market. The research provides several important contributions to the extant literature including analysis of whether the Big Three Asian market iron ore exporters coordinated to sustain the profits arising from the price boom; estimating the financial impact of the Chinese state's intervention in iron price negotiations; and addressing the concerns arising from the Chinese state's provision of cheap financial support for its companies' iron ore procurement. Offering unique insights into China's economic rise and the structure of the iron ore market, this book will be relevant to students and scholars of resource economics, and the Australian and Chinese economies.

This proceedings brings together one hundred and ten selected papers presented at the 2nd International Conference on Advanced High Strength Steel and Press Hardening (ICHSU2015), which was held in Changsha, China, during October 15-18, 2015.To satisfy the increasingly urgent requirement of reducing the weight of vehicle structures and increasing passenger safety, ICHSU2015 provided an excellent international platform for researchers to share their knowledge and results in theory, methodology and applications of advanced high strength steel and press hardening technology.This conference aroused great interests and attentions from domestic and foreign researchers in hot stamping field. Experts in this field from Australia, China, Germany and Sweden, contributed to the collection of research results and developments. The papers cover almost all the current topics of advanced high strength steel and press hardening technology.

The Steelworkers' Retirement Security System: A Worker-based Model for Community Investment articulates a new model for economic security based upon steelworkers' pension provisions and labor politics after World War II. Labor's collective bargaining agreements created interdependent commitments that sustained jobs and stabilized communities. The evidence in The Steelworkers' Retirement Security System includes an empirical analysis of United States steel towns and case studies of Weirton, West Virginia, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and Johnstown, Pennsylvania. By understanding the politics that bound firms and workers together and adapting these commitments to the post-industrial economy, The Steelworkers' Retirement Security System offers a new means by which communities can provide workers security and economic growth. This new model, the Guaranteed Pension and Community Investment plan, provide workers with lifetime retirement annuities and communities with reliable investment capital.

First published in 1983, this study investigates and compares three leading firms in the British iron and steel industry between 1914 and 1939, analysing their strategies, boardroom politics, and their responses to the problems posed by the Great War and by the vicissitudes of the 1920s and '30s. Jonathan Boswell illuminates certain issues that are of perennial importance for students of business: rationality and 'error' in decision-making, ethics, centralisation versus decentralisation, and the question of cyclical phases. The central theme throughout is the pursuit of three partly conflicting objectives: growth, efficiency and social action. The trade-offs between these three pursuits are used to examine significant contrasts in corporate strategies and behaviour, including towards government and public opinion. Boswell's rejection of economic determinism; his insistence that managerial influences fall into definable long-run patterns; and his theses on managerial specialisation and long-term policy biases confront fundamental issues for theories of the firm.

As a heavy user of electricity the primary aluminium smelting industry is a leading example of the effects of variations in energy costs. This title tells the story that with the rise in energy costs, three regions-Japan, the United States, and Western Europe -have become high-cost locations for primary aluminium production relative to three other regions-Australia, Brazil, and Canada. First published in 1988, this volume presents an analysis of the public policy choices regarding the aluminium industry and electric power in both low-cost power countries and high-cost power countries. The World Aluminium Industry in a Changing Energy World is ideal for policy makers and students interested in environmental studies.

An interest in the minor metals - termed "minor" as their annual production is relatively small - had been developing for many years. This study, first published in 1965, examines patterns of supply that can be identified as underlying the production of minor metals, and then uses these patterns to investigate the nature and degree of competition in the production of minor metals. This book will be of interest to students of environmental studies.

First published in 1998. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

First published in 1983, this study investigates and compares three leading firms in the British iron and steel industry between 1914 and 1939, analysing their strategies, boardroom politics, and their responses to the problems posed by the Great War and by the vicissitudes of the 1920s and '30s. Jonathan Boswell illuminates certain issues that are of perennial importance for students of business: rationality and 'error' in decision-making, ethics, centralisation versus decentralisation, and the question of cyclical phases. The central theme throughout is the pursuit of three partly conflicting objectives: growth, efficiency and social action. The trade-offs between these three pursuits are used to examine significant contrasts in corporate strategies and behaviour, including towards government and public opinion. Boswell's rejection of economic determinism; his insistence that managerial influences fall into definable long-run patterns; and his theses on managerial specialisation and long-term policy biases confront fundamental issues for theories of the firm.

This book provides a basic outline of the history of the American steel industry, a sector of the economy that has been an important part of the industrial system. The book starts with the 1830's, when the American iron and steel industry resembled the traditional iron producing sector that had existed in the old world for centuries, and it ends in 2001. The product of this industry, steel, is an alloy of iron and carbon that has become the most used metal in the world. The very size of the steel industry and its position in the modern economy give it an unusual relevance to the economic, social, and political system.

The POSCO Strategy brings to life one of the world's great industrial success stories. Expertly told by William T. Hogan, an accomplished commentator on the global steel industry, the work traces the meteoric rise of South Korea's Pohang Iron and Steel Company and the incredible impact it has had on this small agrarian country. In a mere quarter of a century POSCO has grown to become the largest steel company in the world and has dragged South Korea into the industrial age. The book not only provides a blueprint for the world's steel industry but offers an incredible case study to students of modern Asian economic history seeking to understand how a non-industrialized economy can be so dramatically modernized by the development of a single industry.