Usinor
| Company type | Conglomerate |
|---|---|
| Industry | Steel manufacturing |
| Founded | 1948 |
| Defunct | 2001 |
| Fate | Merged with Arbed and Aceralia to form Arcelor |
| Headquarters | France |
| Products | Steel products |
Usinor was a French steel manufacturing conglomerate founded in 1948. It combined with Sacilor in 1986, creating Usinor-Sacilor, underwent privatisation in 1995, and reverted to the name Usinor in 1997.
In 2001, Usinor joined forces with Luxembourg's Arbed and Spain's Aceralia to establish the European steel giant Arcelor, which subsequently merged into ArcelorMittal in 2006.
Sacilor and its origins
In 1704, Jean Martin de Wendel purchased an ironworks located in Hayange, within the northeastern French region of Lorraine. Over the following century, industrial operations expanded significantly, highlighted by France’s inaugural coke-fired blast furnace built in 1822. By 1869, the de Wendel family controlled 15 blast furnaces producing more than 100,000 tons annually of iron and cast iron, supplying products such as rails, bars, sheets, tinplate, and wire.
Following the Franco-Prussian War (1870), the company was split due to Alsace-Lorraine falling under German control but returned to French jurisdiction after the First World War. By 1929, production had surged to exceed 1.5 million tons of iron and cast iron.
The economic downturn during the Great Depression in France curtailed investments, prompting nine steel producers to establish Société Lorraine de Laminage Continu (Sollac) in 1948 to collectively modernize their operations. Further consolidation occurred with the formation of Sidélor in 1950 from the Rombas and Homécourt groups; later in 1963, Union des consommateurs de produits métallurgiques et industriels (UCPMI) merged with Knutange creating Société Mosellane de Sidérurgie (SMS).
The creation of Sacilor (Société des Aciéries et Laminoirs de Lorraine) took place in 1964 as a partnership between the de Wendel and Sidélor groups aimed at developing a state-of-the-art steel facility at Gandrange, Lorraine. These entities joined forces with SMS in 1967 under the name de Wendel-Sidélor, which by 1968 was responsible for producing approximately 40% of France’s steel output, amounting to 20 million tons of iron annually.
In 1973, the entire organization adopted the name Sacilor.
Usinor and its background
Usinor (Union Sidérurgique du Nord) originated in 1948 through the merger of Denain-Anzin (established 1849) and Nord-Est (established 1882), both tracing their roots back to nineteenth-century ironworks located within the French administrative region of Nord.
Designed to unify regional steel production facilities, Usinor inaugurated a new plant at Denain in 1952 and launched a steel sheet manufacturing site at Dunkirk in 1971, enhancing raw material imports via maritime routes.
In 1963, Usinor incorporated Lorraine-Escaut, itself a combination of Senelle-Maubeuge, Longwy, and Escaut et Meuse. The financial difficulties during the 1970s led to increased government capital injections. In 1979, Usinor absorbed the smaller firm Chiers-Chatillon-Neuves Maisons. By 1981, the French state held a controlling interest amounting to 90% of Usinor’s equity.
Nationalisation and fusion of Usinor with Sacilor
The oil crisis of 1973 placed significant financial pressure on both Usinor and Sacilor, which were burdened by modernization debts and dependent on government loans; consequently, both were nationalised in 1981.
Following a downturn in steel demand during 1983 and the European Commission’s cessation of subsidies in 1986, both companies suffered substantial losses. This led to their merger in September 1986 under the new name Usinor-Sacilor.
Usinor-Sacilor, Usinor, and the Formation of Arcelor
The group grew through the acquisitions of Sollac in 1990 and Ugine in 1991. Following its privatization in 1995, the company adopted the name Usinor in 1997.
In 1998, Usinor expanded by purchasing the Belgian steel producer Cockerill-Sambre. The firm then concentrated its operations on flat carbon steel manufacturing, divesting several specialty and long product divisions. That same year, the rolling mill producer Forcast (company) was sold to Akers (company).
During 1998-1999, Usinor's long products subsidiary Unimetal, along with its own subsidiaries Trefileurope and Societe Metallurgique de Revigny (SMR), were transferred to Ispat International for about $107 million. In 1998, manufacturers of railway wheelsets and axles, Valdunes and RTM, were sold to Freedom Forge Holding based in the USA. The railway rail manufacturer Sogerail was acquired by British Steel plc in 1999. Additionally, the special long products unit Ascometal was sold to Lucchini S.p.A. in 1999, while the electrical steel subsidiary UGO (Usinor Grains Orientés SA) was divested to Thyssen Krupp in 2000.
In the period of 2001 to 2002, Usinor combined forces with Luxembourg’s Arbed and Spain’s Aceralia, resulting in the creation of Arcelor.