RG Steel owner addresses employees about their future

RG Steel owner addresses employees about their future

WARREN

Charles Betters acknowledged that doesn’t have the experience to run a steel mill like the former RG Steel mill, which he bought in bankruptcy court. But he wanted the mill’s employees to know he’s doing all he can to find someone who can run it.

Betters, of Monaca, Pa., spent time outside of the mill’s administrative offices this afternoon telling a couple hundred workers of the extra effort he put forth to make sure there was still a chance the mill might reopen.

He was referring to the work he and several attorneys did the past two weeks trying to resolve an issue with ArcelorMittal over that company’s option to purchase the Warren mill’s boiler.

If ArcelorMittal, which owns a coke plant next to the Warren mill, acquired the boiler, there would be no way for the mill to reopen, Betters said.

Betters introduced his management team to the workers, and to the news media and public officials earlier, and said they have the ability to get a mill operator into the project.

The workers cheered the loudest when Betters told the workers he plans to winterize the mill in the coming months, a move workers said indicates he means it when he says he wants to keep the mill open.