Our roots in Hamilton date back to 1912.

With the issuance of 5,000 shares at $100 each, Clifton W. Sherman, a New York steel man and entrepreneur, founded Dominion Steel Castings Co. in 1912.

Shortly after, the facility became Dominion Steel Foundry. On December 13, 1912, it poured its first heat of steel. The facility operated one open hearth furnace capable of producing 88 net tons of steel per day and had 100 people on the payroll. The facility’s first office was located in a tiny space in the Lister Block of downtown Hamilton. For many years, a little red brick office on Depew was the main office space. The facility first started producing steel for railways and added military materials in 1914. By 1918, it was operating 11 open hearth furnaces and two electric arc furnaces. It produced about 880 net tons of steel each day and spanned 26 acres. In 1930, the Dofasco name was first coined.

The mid-century represented a time of rapid expansion for Dofasco. In 1951, the site started its first blast furnace and coke plant. In 1954, it was the first company in North America to adopt a basic oxygen furnace. And in 1955, management established the Research and Development department to continue inventing new steels and technologies. In the 1950s, the company grew to 5,000 employees before peaking at nearly 12,000 in the 1970s.

Today, ArcelorMittal Dofasco operates on 800 acres of property within 850 buildings. We have 30 kilometres of roads and 16 kilometres of rail. Nearly 5,000 employees proudly work for the facility, producing and shipping 4.5 million net tons of flat steel used across North America. Then and now, there is one common ingredient to the company’s success - our people.