The Obituary
Bethlehem Steel grew from a Pennsylvania ironworks into America’s second-largest steel producer and one of its biggest shipbuilders. Its structural steel raised the Golden Gate Bridge, Rockefeller Center, and Madison Square Garden, and its yards launched over a thousand warships in World War II. After the war, aging plants, high labor costs, and cheaper imported steel eroded its margins. It failed to modernize as minimills and foreign producers took share. The company filed for bankruptcy in 2001, and in 2003 its remaining assets were sold to the International Steel Group.
Worth remembering
- Its steel framed the Golden Gate Bridge, the George Washington Bridge, and Rockefeller Center.
- During World War II its shipyards built 1,121 vessels, more than any other American company.
Sources
- Bethlehem Steel filed for bankruptcy in 2001 and its assets were acquired by International Steel Group in 2003 Wikipedia
- Bethlehem Steel was the second-largest US steel producer and a major shipbuilder Encyclopaedia Britannica
A graveyard tradition: leave a stone to show you came, and remembered.