Severstal North America has appointed 35-year industry veteran Wilbur A. Winland vice president and general manager of its Lowndes County steel plant.
The company announced the decision Monday, the same day its former plant Chief Executive Officer James Hrusovsky, 54, was named the new CEO of Essar Steel Algoma Inc. in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada.
Winland, lately of RG Steel, will replace interim vice president and general manager John Bell, who will resume his role as VP of operations at Severstal Columbus.
Severstal North America CEO Sergei Kuznetsov said he was “delighted” to have Winland — who at one time ran Severstal”s Mountain State Carbon — “back on our team.”
“He has proven over the years to be a valuable and experienced member of our organization,” said Kuznetsov, who also thanked Bell for his help during the transition.
Winland takes over at Severstal Columbus, which began production in 2007, as it goes through an expansion that will eventually double the amount of flat-rolled steel it produces from 1.5 million metric tons to 3 million.
“We believe (Winland and Bell) will do an outstanding job of spearheading the Columbus team through this period of growth and transformation,” Kuznetsov said.
The plant recently suffered a setback when a Tennessee Valley Authority transmission line failed last week, knocking out power to the region.
While most areas have their power back on, several of the plant”s facilities are still out, said Severstal spokeswoman Katya Pruett. TVA is slowly bringing the plant back online, although Pruett was not sure when power would be fully restored.
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