Bethlehem steel is the nation's second largest integrated steel produce; its primary business is the manufacture and sale of a wide variety of steel mill products. Additional business segments include producing and selling coal and other raw materials, repair ships and offshore drilling platforms, and manufacturing forging and castings. This research examines how five key economic factors affect Bethlehem, and how the company has responded to these pressure in the past. In addition, the research makes recommendations about the company's behavior and future performance.
Incorporated in 1904, Bethlehem's history dates back to the mid-nineteenth century when the Saucona Iron Company was founded in South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, to roll railroad rails. When the current name was adopted in 1899, the company had expanded into plating for ships, forgings for generators, and steels for metal cutting. Charles Schwab, a financier, founded Bethlehem Steel and was instrumental in working with Andrew Carnegie and the formation of U.S. Steel. Bethlehem's current market position and strategy are due in no small part to the influence of Schwab as CEO and president.
Throughout its history, Bethlehem has emphasized growth through acquisition, and this certainly characterized the company's activities during the early part of the twentieth century. During the first four years of the 1920s, Bethlehem added three steel companies, including plants and iron ore mines, to its portfolio. A wire rope company was acquired in 1937.
The growth of the early 1920s was halted by the Depression of the 1930s; Bethlehem was particularly hard hit because of its reliance on the construction and railroad industries. During this period, the company was able to expand its plants and add products to its product offerings due to a strong financial condition ("A Brief History," 1992, p. 5). Because of its strength and its acquisition of a bridge fabricator, Be...