Welcome to the 2021 Fastmarkets Global Awards for Steel Excellence
We proudly celebrate the accomplishments of our steel industry. Companies large and small are recognized here for achieving excellence in a number of areas. As the voice of the industry, Fastmarkets is proud to honor the best among us.
For the past 12 years, Fastmarkets has presented the Awards for Steel Excellence, which is one of the most prestigious and recognizable awards program for the global steel industry. The awards have recognized world-class innovation and excellence in steel and related industries for companies throughout the steel supply chain and by key partners to the industry. Firms that are finalists and winners have demonstrated best practices to achieve outstanding results. They embody best-in-class practices as measured by global standards.
To review best practices and guidelines for submitting nominations, please click here.
There is no fee to nominate and we accept multiple category submissions. Simply find the categories you want to submit for on our form and fill out the questions.
The nomination deadline is April 30, 2021.
Master of Ceremonies
Mary Connors has been organizing and hosting the Fastmarkets Awards for Steel Excellence program since it started in 2009 under American Metal Market. She also oversees Metal Market Magazine and has cultivated its success for over a decade.
Advocate of the Year John Ferriola, Former CEO, Nucor Corporation
Best Innovation - Product
Best Innovation - Process
Best Operational Improvements
Best Mergers & Acquisitions
Financial Services Provider of the Year
Legal Services Provider of the Year
Information Technology Provider of the Year
Global Steel Producer of the Year
Environmental Responsibility/Stewardship
North American Scrap Company of the Year
Tube & Pipe Producer of the Year
Service Center of the Year: Large Company
Raw Materials - Consumables Provider of the Year
Metal Market Magazine is a leading title for international steel and metal production and trade. It carries features, interviews, analysis and reviews of developments and trends along the full length of the supply chains. It is consequently the perfect home for comprehensive coverage of the Awards Finalists and Winners.
2020 Award Winners
Metal Market Magazine
- Best Innovation – Product
- Best Innovation – Process
- Best Mergers & Acquisitions
- Best Operational Improvements
- Technology Provider of the Year
- Financial Services Provider of the Year
- Legal Services Provider of the Year
- Information Technology Services (including enterprise and manufacturing software) Provider of the Year
- Environmental Responsibility/Stewardship/Green Steel Champion (including energy conservation or delivery)
- Logistics/Transportation Provider of the Year
- Scrap Company of the Year – Large: North America: (revenue greater than $250 million USD)
- Scrap Company of the Year – Small to Midsize: North America: (revenue than $250 million USD)
- Scrap Company of the Year: EMEA
- Scrap Company of the Year: Asia
- Scrap Equipment Company of the year
- Tube and Pipe Producer of the Year
- Service Center of the Year – Large (revenue greater than $500 million USD)
- Service Center of the Year – Small to Midsize (revenue less than $500 million USD)
- Raw Materials/Consumables Provider of the Year
- Production/Processors/Fabricators
- Steel Producer of the Year – Americas
- Steel Producer of the Year – Middle East/Africa
- Steel Producer of the Year – Europe
- Steel Producer of the Year – Asia
- Ferro-alloy Company of the Year
- Energy Provider of the Year
- Workforce Diversity Champion
- Automotive Supplier of the Year
- Ferrous Trading Company of the Year
- Exchange Company of the Year – Ferrous
See what happened at our 2019 event.
Fastmarkets Global Awards for Steel Excellence
Virtual Celebration
In lieu of a celebratory dinner, this year we hosted a virtual celebration to commemorate our winners. For 2021, we will closely monitor COVID-19 guidelines for events and determine if we can host a dinner or if we will continue with our virtual gathering. Any updates will be posted here and all of our communication outlets.
To get a sense of our virtual ceremony, please click here to view our live reveal on demand. You may also take at look at some photos of our 2019 dinner below.
Meet our Judges
Philip K. Bell is president of the Washington, D.C. based Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA). SMA’s producer members represent over 70 percent of domestic steelmaking capacity. The SMA is the largest steel industry trade association in the U.S. He assumed leadership of the organization in 2013. Prior to that he was director of External Communications and Public Affairs with Gerdau North America.
Jo Isenberg-O'Loughlin is a career-long trade journalist, editor and writer, who has spent more than four decades covering the steel, nonferrous metals and other process industries. She is the founding editor of Metal Market Magazine and has served as editor in chief and a contributing editor of 33 Metal Producing and written for publications ranging from Business Week and Buyside to corporate newsletters for clients.
Grace Lavigne Asenov is Fastmarkets AMM’s North American Steel Editor. She was previously price development manager for North America, overseeing the region’s derivatives and price adoption strategy, and before that spent three years on the editorial team covering markets including copper and stainless steel.
Andrew Wells leads Fastmarkets’ global ferrous pricing and editorial team, overseeing strategy and implementation of market coverage and price discovery for hundreds of ferrous prices. He has 20 years’ experience in commodity price reporting. Prior to working for Fastmarkets, Andrew was Editor and Managing Editor of the McCloskey Coal Report.
Nick Sowar leads Deloitte’s global metals industry practice. With more than 41 years of experience with Deloitte and 35 years in the steel industry, his steel industry experience has been all encompassing – from leading audits of steel companies to mergers and acquisitions transactions and restructurings. Nick is a member of both the Deloitte U.S. firm’s and the Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu operating committee for the Consumer and Industrial Products practice.
Jim Wainscott worked in the steel industry for more than 35 years before retiring at the end of 2015 after 12 years as President and CEO of AK Steel Corporation. He continued to serve in a non-executive capacity as chairman of the board of directors of AK Steel, a role he held for over 10 years, until May 2016. Jim joined AK Steel in 1995 as vice president and treasurer and was the company’s chief financial officer from 1998 to 2003.
Bill Jones joined O’Neal Industries in 1976 after beginning his career at South Central Bell in commercial management. He was promoted to Vice President, Birmingham District, in 1990, became Executive Vice President in 1993 and was named President and CEO in September 2000. Bill was named Vice Chairman of O’Neal Industries in January 2009 and served in that position until his retirement in June 2014.
Vince Pappalardo is the Managing Director for Brown Gibbons Lang & Company’s metals and metals processing practice. In that capacity, he focuses on mergers and acquisitions advisory for companies in the production and distribution of both ferrous and nonferrous metals and alloys as well as diversified industrial sectors. Vince has more than 20 years of experience with mergers and acquisitions both domestically and internationally.
Tom Danjczek led the Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA) as President from 1998 until 2014. Under Tom’s leadership, the organization increased both its membership and influence, particularly in the public policy arena. Before joining SMA, Tom was General Manager and President of a Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corporation subsidiary and previously held management and engineering positions with Kaiser Steel and Bethlehem Steel Corporation.
Michelle Applebaum is an industry consultant, board director at Northwest Pipe and senior advisor at Republic Partners. Prior to her current assignments, Michelle spent more than 20 years as a managing director at Salomon Brothers in New York and was the top-rated steel analyst for most of the 1988-2003 timeframe. In 2003, Michelle formed Steel Market Intelligence, a Chicago-based capital markets boutique specializing in equity research for institutional investors, advisory work for steel companies and steel market research for buyers and sellers of steel.
Len Anthony has more than 25 years of public company financial management experience including two significant industrial IPOs and the restructuring of a $5 billion company. He has been a director and audit committee chairman for MRC Global, the largest global distributor of pipes, valves and fittings for the energy industry that completed a successful IPO, and he currently serves as executive chairman of the board of directors for Nano Steel Company. Len’s steel industry experience includes serving as CEO for WCI Steel while orchestrating its sale to OAO Severstal and as CFO for International Steel Group and Bethlehem Steel Corporation.
Avetik Chalabyan is a senior partner of McKinsey & Company based in Moscow. He currently leads the McKinsey’s Metals Practice globally as well as Basic Materials and Advanced Machinery practices in Russia and the CIS. Avetik specializes in strategy, business system transformations, operational and commercial improvement programs, and innovation.
Technology Provider of the Year
Logistics/Transportation Provider of the Year
EMEA Scrap Company of the Year
Scrap Equipment Company of the Year
Automotive Supplier of the Year
Ferrous Trading Company of the Year
Exchange Company of the Year
Workforce Diversity Company of the Year
Service Center of the Year: Small to Mid-size Company
Production/Processors/
Fabricators of the Year
To read detailed winner profiles featured in Metal Market Magazine, please click here to access the eBook.