Summer 1982

Soulé Steel News

**"WE ARE AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER"**

Volume VI — Summer 1982 Issue — Number 11

Soulé Advances Further into the Energy Field

Early in 1980, in an exciting move marking further expansion into the energy field — coal mining in particular — Soulé Steel Company purchased Mountain States Mine Bolt Company of Helper, Utah. Not only did the purchase broaden the company's product line, but it also provided another outlet for Soulé-manufactured reinforcing bars produced at our Carson, California, mill. The bars are then shipped to Mountain States where they are manufactured into mine bolts.

There are approximately 100 active mines in the Mountain States market area, which consists of Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, and parts of other surrounding states. These mines consume several million mine bolts annually. Mountain States Mine Bolt Company is located in the heart of the western coal country to provide quick service and supply of products to all mines in this market area.

Coal mines have long used roof support systems which effectively support the roof of the mine and support such utility systems as water, electricity, telephone and natural gas ducting throughout the mine. There are two basic types of mine support systems; one is a mechanical expansion anchor bolt, the other is a resin-type bolt.

Originally, five employees were hired to staff the operation at Mountain States. Brent Olsen moved from Salt Lake City to Helper in order to manage the new company. The crew now numbers nine people, and their experience and efforts have contributed greatly to an increased productivity. In addition to Brent, now district manager, LouAnn Arnold is production supervisor, Vince Arnold and Steven Nielson are header operators, Vern Coleman is a shear operator and Jesse Haycock is the co-operator, and David Fritzler is the counter. They are ably supported by Sherry Arroyo, secretary, and Rick Turner, truck driver. Overall responsibility for the company is in the hands of Sandy Soulé, Director-Marketing and Operations, Mill Products Group.

*(Continued next page)*

*Photo: One of Soulé's prefabricated buildings was erected on the site at Helper, Utah, to house production equipment.*

*Photo: Stacks of completed mine bolts.*

*Photo: Brent Olsen*

*Photo: LouAnn Arnold*

*Photo: Vincent Arnold*

*Photo: Vernon Coleman*

*Photo: Sherry Arroyo*

*Photo: Ricky Turner*

To further expand our product line, the company recently acquired Saf-Loc Systems, Inc., of Englewood, Colorado, ably directed by Jim Farrell. In addition to manufacturing mine bolts, Saf-Loc will produce resin cartridges, which are used in conjunction with the bolts. Resin cartridges are placed into the hole which is drilled in the mine roof. When the mine bolt is placed into the cartridge, the resin quickly seals the bolt into place, enabling it to withstand up to 20,000 pounds of pressure. Saf-Loc will manufacture resin cartridges for Mountain States Mine Bolt Company also.

Soulé is strongly committed to both of these new companies, as well as to the coal mining and general energy fields. The company is enthusiastic about the new capabilities and opportunities our latest additions offer, and looks forward to great success in the future.

Jo Davis Retires

On April 30, Jo Davis, the senior secretary at the Fresno office, retired to enjoy more time with her family and other activities. Jo was the first employee to be hired when the Fresno office opened in September 1963, and she has been a vital part in the growth of the operation these past 18½ years. We wish her God's blessing in her retirement.

Do You Hear Bells?

Well, on April 17, Monna Pennington, PBX operator/receptionist was hearing bells. Monna was married to Mr. Harold Davis in Las Vegas. Best wishes to Monna and Harold.

Zvi Dagan Joins as Manager of Dealer Sales

Zvi Dagan joined the Soulé Buildings Division on May 3 in the newly created position of manager-dealer sales, International Operations.

For the past two years, Zvi has been the export manager for a major steel buildings company in Houston, Texas. During the seven prior years, he headed his own company in Tel-Aviv, Israel, as a pre-engineered metal building dealer.

Zvi has a B.A. in Economics and Middle East Studies and a diploma in Business Administration from Jerusalem University. He is fluent in Hebrew and German and has a basic understanding of French and Arabic.

S. Neil Hyland Joins the Steel Building Division as Plant Operations Manager

As of May 24, Neil Hyland became plant operations manager for the Los Angeles Steel Building Manufacturing Plant.

For the past six years, Neil has been with Rockwool Industries, an international manufacturer and distributor, latterly as manufacturing manager of their Fontana insulating and sound absorption plant. During the eighteen prior years, he was with ABEX Corporation, Chicago, where he held several upper management positions.

Neil has a B.S. in Industrial Management from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.

Thanks for 31 Years of Dedicated Service

After 31 years with Soulé Steel as a detailing estimating supervisor at Ventura and, from 1979, as an estimator at Phoenix, Pete Schlegel plans to retire to the gold-mining country around Sacramento. At his retirement luncheon, his Phoenix colleagues gave him a grand farewell, presenting him with a fishing rod and reel, ice chest, and the metal detector he is holding in the picture. We all wish Pete many days of happy fishing and gold-mining!

Soulé Buildings Names New Far East Regional Manager

John Cole joined the international staff as regional manager-Far East on February 25 and will be stationed in Asia.

He has over ten years' experience in the building industry, most recently in Saudi Arabia with Saudi Building Systems as sales manager and also with Ward Brothers as Middle East manager.

John attended the Manchester College of Building and Institute of Building Estimators. He holds a certificate from the University of Manchester.

Jim Trausch Appointed Corporate Auditor

James Trausch joined the company as corporate auditor on April 6. Prior to that, Jim was internal auditor for Van Vorst Industries, Pasadena. He has also been vice president, internal auditor for Pacific Stock Exchange, Los Angeles, and director, internal audit, with Coca-Cola Bottling Company, Los Angeles.

He has a B.B.A. degree from Woodbury College and is a member of the Institute of International Auditors.

Roy and Mary Fisher: Golden Couple

Roy and Mary Fisher recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary when they were honored at a surprise dinner at Rick's Chalet in Palo Alto. Roy, a member of the Soulé Steel team as a supervisor, special products, Architectural Products Division, retired on January 4, 1974.

Everybody at Soulé Steel would like to add their congratulations and wish the Fishers many more happy years of wedded bliss.

Congratulations on 35 Years

**Robert Acree** *Manager-Purchasing* *Steel Buildings Division* *Los Angeles*

**Robert Sutton** *Crane Operator* *Steel Buildings Division* *Los Angeles*

Congratulations on 30 Years

**Enrique Guzman** *Janitor* *Steel Buildings Division* *Los Angeles*

15-Year Service Awards

**Ernest Barnes** *Field Ironworker* *Fresno*

**Eugene Luna** *Shop Supervisor* *Salt Lake City*

**Henri Young** *Punch Press Operator* *Allied Products*

10-Year Service Awards

**Terry Burrious** *Field Ironworker* *Fresno*

**Randall Chadwell** *Leadman* *Allied Products*

**Carlos Cardiel** *Painter* *Steel Buildings* *Los Angeles*

**Aril Manning** *Bar Thread Machine Operator* *Steel Buildings* *Los Angeles*

**Enrique Moreno** *Roll Form Machine Operator* *Steel Buildings* *Los Angeles*

**Gary Williams** *Fab Shop Bender Operator* *Phoenix*

Welcome Aboard

**Jennifer Corral** *Electro-Mechanical Designer, Maintenance & Engineering* *Carson*

**Carl Grace** *Security Guard, Personnel — Security* *Carson*

**Margrith Sellier** *Payroll Clerk* *Accounting* *Carson*

**Jeffrey Willett** *Detailer* *Steel Buildings* *Carson*

**John Evanston** *Cost Accountant* *Accounting* *Carson*

**William Gorman** *Detailer* *Steel Buildings* *Carson*

**Tonya Merget** *Clerk, Maintenance & Engineering* *Carson*

**Bob McCain, Sr.** *Shop Helper* *Fresno*

**Ron Miller** *Detailer III* *Engineering Dept.,* *Phoenix*

**Joe Handy** *Reinforcing Detailer Trainee, Newark/San Francisco*

5-Year Service Awards

**Carol Lozo** *Secretary-Marketing Services* *Steel Buildings Division* *Carson*

**Enrique Alvarez** *Welder-Structural* *Steel Buildings* *Los Angeles*

Top Builders Awards

A total of 170 people attended the Soulé Building Division's National Sales Meeting at Lake Tahoe from March 18-21 to honor the top builders for 1981. Congratulations to the winners shown receiving their awards from John Crowhurst, Director-Domestic Marketing and Sales.

*Photo: Builder of the Year and No. 1 builder by sales volume Carl Brooks of Carl Brooks, Inc., Long Beach, California.*

*Photo: Top Ten Builder Award Winner and No. 2 by sales volume Joellen and Roger Benton of Commercial Industries Co., Inc., Bellevue, Washington.*

*Photo: Top Ten Builder Award Winner and No. 3 by sales volume George Ferreboeuf and Jim Heady of Delcon Development of Hayward, California.*

*Photo: Pictured (l to r) are Stanley Soulé, John Baker, Director-International Marketing and Sales, Lee Soulé and John Crowhurst.*

*Photo: Enjoying the awards banquet are: (standing) Jerry Pitman, Buildings International-Germany, the International Builder of the Year with Lee Soulé; (seated l to r) Roy Pitman, Cynthia Heffner, Lee Shields, California Builders Hardware, San Francisco, Petey Pitman, John Baker, Chuckie Shields, Hans Thuys, Sales Manager, Soulé BV-Holland, and Henk Mulder, General Manager, Soulé BV-Holland.*

L.A. Linksters Even the Score

On Saturday, April 10, two grim-faced groups of professional hit men met to do battle at the Valencia Golf Course. Although the Fearless Fresno Flog Team had taken the first encounter in this best-of-three championship event, the L.A. Linksters were determined to par the series.

The Fresno team, which included Ben Wilkes, Sr. (district supervisor), Ron Kurtz (field ironworker), John Bishop (detailer), and Al Parret (detailer), put up a fierce fight. However, they were outgunned by the L.A. mob, captained by Gene Hopcus (product development supervisor) and comprised of Leonard Diyco (engineering supervisor), Jim Madden (office services coordinator), Dale Drury (order coordinator), George Johnson (chief inspector), Bill Furst (supervisor-materials), Sonny Brewster (foreman-rolling), and Charlie Briones (superintendent-Melt Dept.).

Somewhat ironically, Al Parret had the lowest score in a losing effort for the Fearless Fresno band, while Leonard Diyco had the unfortunate honor of adding to Carson's trophy total by taking the high score award. It was suggested that the playoff be held immediately by a sudden-death competition at the Nineteenth Hole. However, it was decided that the rubber match would be held on the normal field of battle later this summer.

*Photo: Top row (l to r): Leonard Diyco, Jim Madden, Dale Drury, and Gene Hopcus. Bottom row: Ron Kurtz, Ben Wilkes, Sr., John Bishop, and Al Parret.*

*Photo: Leonard Diyco, the highest scorer, and Al Parret, the lowest scorer.*

*Photo: Proudly displaying the winning team trophy are the L.A. Linksters (l to r): Gene Hopcus, Dale Drury, Jim Madden, George Johnson, Leonard Diyco, and Bill Furst. Not pictured are Sonny Brewster and Charlie Briones.*

SB 1547 Vital to Steel Industry's Survival

Each one of our readers is personally aware of the increased cost of electrical energy in California. In addition to residential consumer increases, however, California steel makers, including Soulé, are faced with high rates as compared with steel producers located in neighboring states and some foreign countries.

Last year, California steel makers formed a group — the Ad Hoc Steel Energy Consumers Committee — to attempt to combat the problem of energy and electrical costs facing our industry today. Here is what we discovered: since January, 1969, steel producers' electrical and energy costs have increased *over 500%* for Southern California Edison Company, and *over 400%* for Pacific Gas and Electric. This is *more than 2½ times* the rate increases experienced by residential consumers. Because of the very serious competition facing California's steel makers, electrical rate increases have exceeded the average sales-dollar-per-ton increases by approximately 250%.

Due to the highly competitive nature of the steel industry, high energy costs cannot be passed on to the consumer — thus preventing steel makers from recouping these expenses. Prior to January, 1969, these costs were a relatively minor part of steel production. Today, however, steel makers (Soulé included) contend with energy rates that are a major part of production costs.

In a serious effort to reduce production costs, the steel industry has implemented many different economy measures. For example, our company is integrating state-of-the-art steel production equipment acquired from the Japanese. Even with this modern equipment, our experience has shown that energy costs can only be reduced to a certain point; energy still remains a major cost for steel producers.

Therefore, our Ad Hoc Committee has submitted to the California State Legislature a proposed bill (SB 1547) which, if passed into law, would help to alleviate some of the high electrical rates now experienced by steel makers. California steel producers expect to pay a fair price for the cost of energy; we also believe California utilities are entitled to a fair return on their investments. This bill would realize both of these expectations.

Our industry is faced with the stark realization that electrical cost increases must be seriously considered if we are to keep steel plants open in California. Our Committee submitted SB 1547 to the State Legislature for two reasons: to make those whom the industry impacts directly aware of the problem, and to stop the ever-increasing number of plant closures occurring in the steel industry.

It is of great importance that the State Legislature pass the bill to ensure the future of an estimated 34,000 jobs in California, as well as over $400 million in direct State revenues. In addition, the passage of the bill will ensure the survival of many hundreds of smaller industries which depend on the steel industry in California.

I would also like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to the 232 employees (plant workers and management personnel) who sent approximately 2,000 letters in support of SB 1547 to the California State Senators representing those areas of California where Soulé has facilities. Your support — and your action backing this bill — is not only appreciated, but will prove to be invaluable when the Senate votes on this issue. The entire California steel industry, and Soulé Steel Company, is asking you to continue to support our position so that we may keep a viable steel industry alive in California.

*Edward Lee Soulé, Jr.* Chairman of the Board

SUMMER 1982 ISSUE

**SOULÉ NEWS**

Published Quarterly by the SOULÉ STEEL COMPANY 1910 Olympic Boulevard, Suite 151 Walnut Creek, California 94596

HOWARD SOULÉ Editor in Chief

DARLEEN HUCKINS — Editor – South RHONDA TALLEY — Walnut Creek JOHN ROGACHENKO — Roving Reporter PAT ROUNTREE — Carson DEE ENGELBERG — LA Reporter FURMAN DAVIS — Phoenix LORRIE BURTON — Salt Lake City BARBARA BURNHAM — Carson CAROL RAMIREZ — Fresno JANET NEUBERT — Newark LYNN LABER — Sacramento CHARLES MAYERS — San Francisco LINDA LAMOTHE — Carson Reporter