Bayou Steel Named 2008 Industry of the Year
Thursday May 22, 2008
The Roane County Industrial Development Board has named Bayou Steel as the Industry of the Year for 2008.
Harriman - The Roane County Industrial Development Board has named Bayou Steel as the Industry of the Year for 2008. The award was announced at the Board's annual Industry Appreciation Breakfast on Thursday, May 22 at Roane State Community College in Harriman.
Bayou Steel has been in operation in Roane County since May, 1995. A rolling mill operation, Bayou Roane County this year alone is expected to produce more than 160,000 tons of steel products for sale throughout the United States. Their workforce, which now totals between 100 and 110 employees -- with average wages of approximately $40,000 a year - represent a total payroll of around $4 million a year. Bayou Steel is a key player in Roane County's industrial picture.
"Bayou Steel's operations have a significant impact on the economy here in Roane County," Roane Industrial Board Chairman David Webb said at the well-attended annual industry appreciation event. "They have had their hard times but they have pulled themselves up by their bootstraps and the Roane County Industrial Board wanted them to know how much that hard work and dedication was appreciated. We hope that Bayou will be here with us in Roane County for many years to come."
The plant where Bayou Steel is now located has been a substantial presence in Roane County for decades, beginning in 1967 with Tennessee Valley Forge, which in 1987 became Tennessee Valley Steel. In 1995, Bayou then came into the picture, buying the plant out of bankruptcy. The Louisiana-based company also later faced similar struggles - filing for Chapter 11 protection in bankruptcy court itself in 2002. But Bayou came out of those challenging years, ending up being one of the few survivors of the nationwide shake-up that the steel industry experienced during that time. They have now become the beneficiary of the recent dynamics in the scrap and steel industry - not the least of which is a tremendous increase in demand for their products.
Accepting the award for Bayou Thursday was the Bayou plant manager, Glen Claypool, and Bayou human resources manager, Mike Robinson.
Also honored at the appreciation event, was HSB Professional Loss Control, for their beautification efforts. HSB was honored for their Roane County facility which is located off Blackburn Road near the Roane Regional Business and Technology Park in East Roane County. HSB Professional Loss Control is an international property loss control, fire and explosion engineering, and risk assessment consulting firm providing service to industrial, commercial, and government organizations. The company has been in business some 30 years, but the present facility was built in 1991. Almost all of the landscaping, plantings, and other beautification efforts have been performed personally by the facility's top executive, HSB Professional Loss Control Executive Vice President Mike Mowrer.
The annual beautification awards were implemented three years ago by the Roane County Industrial Board in an effort to recognize industries that "go the extra mile" to exhibit a clean, aesthetically-pleasing appearance.
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