At exactly 8:05 PM on the evening of Tuesday, June 27, Mary Connors, vice president of sales and publisher of AMM Magazine, stepped up to the podium and greeted some 250 guests attending American Metal Market’s eighth annual Awards for Steel Excellence Dinner.
The event was held in the heart of New York City’s Theater District—only steps away from Broadway—at the famed Edison Ballroom and drew an array of steel industry and sector-related luminaries, from companies active in the 16 different categories in which the awards were presented. AMM’s Excellence in Steel Awards recognize world-class companies in and in support of the global steel industry.
“As they say, what a difference a year makes,” Connors told the audience, commenting on the caliber of this year’s 62 finalists and 16 award winners. “We had a record number of outstanding nominations this year and the highest scores from the judges we have ever witnessed in the past eight years,” she said.
This year’s panel of judges drew on the experience and expertise of ten individuals, who are either currently engaged or have spent their careers in and around the American steel industry.
Members of the 2017 judges panel included:
• Michelle Applebaum, veteran steel analyst and long-time Salomon Brothers/Citigroup managing director, founder of Steel Market Intelligence
• Thomas Danjczek, advisor and past president of the Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA)
• Jo Isenberg-O’Loughlin, retired American Metal Market executive editor
• Bill Jones, retired vice chairman, O’Neal Industries
• Jimmy Lawrence, scrap reporter, American Metal Market
• John Lichtenstein, managing director of global metals and APAC natural resource industries for Accenture
• Vince Pappalardo, managing director-metals, Brown, Gibbons Lang & Co.
• Thorsten Schier, North American steel and ferrous scrap editor, American Metal Market
• Nick Sowar, global metals sector leader for Deloitte
• Jim Wainscott, retired chief executive officer, AK Steel
Tasked with evaluating nominations submitted from across the industry, the judges scored each entry and, based on the independent scoring, narrowed the field to 62 finalists and finally to 16 award winners.
This year’s field of nominees was described by Bette Kovach, AMM’s Excellence in Steel Awards program manager and veteran steel communications executive, as “particularly strong, reflecting increasing momentum in most segments of the industry.”
Kovach also pointed out that the 2017 edition of the Excellence in Steel Awards marked the addition of three new categories to include and recognize different contributors to the industry in equipment, materials and services.
The envelope, please
Prior to announcing the 16 award winners, Thorsten Schier paid a special tribute to Daniel R. DiMicco, former chief executive officer of Nucor Corp., and recent maverick political advisor, who was named AMM’s 2017 Steel Advocate of the Year.
The following pages profile and highlight the winners of this year’s Steel Excellence Award, which include:
• Nucor Corp. for Steel Producer of the Year
• ArcelorMittal USA for Best Innovation-Product
• U.S. Automotive Materials Partnership for Best Innovation – Process
• Primetals Technologies, Arvedi Endless Strip Production Project, for Technology Provider of the Year
• BMO Harris Bank N.A. for Financial Services Provider of the Year
• Wiley Rein LLP for Legal Services Provider of the Year
• Quintiq for information Technology Provider of the Year
• SSAB Americas for Environmental Responsibility/Stewardship
• Port Tampa Bay for Logistics/Transportation Provider of the Year
• Metso Minerals Industries, Inc. for Scrap Equipment Supplier of the Year
• Steel Dynamics/Omnisource Corp. for Scrap Company of the Year
• Borusan Mannesmann Pipe for Tube and Pipe Producer of the Year
• Klein Steel for Service Center of the Year
• Gerdau for Raw Materials/Consumables Provider of the Year
• Nucor Corp. for Best Mergers and Acquisitions of the Year
• Outokumpu for Best Operational Improvement of the Year