Industry history an important part of Butler’s past
Glass and steel are two industries that supported the working people of Butler as the city grew, with Cleveland-Cliffs, formerly known as Armco or AK Steel, continuing to be a large employer in the area since its start at the end of the 19th century.
Both industries were represented at the Industry Expo Saturday, July 11, which helped make up the “stacks” part of the Butler Cultural District’s first Steeples and Stacks event that took place Friday and Saturday in the city.
Lisa Campbell, a member of the Butler Cultural District's advisory committee, said the Industry Expo invited current businesses and manufacturers to showcase their work at the Main Street event to give visitors an idea of what goes on inside the skyline’s stacks.
“We really wanted to keep the theme of it being a heritage weekend,” Campbell said. “Glass was one of the first industries to come to Butler. Railroads, glass and steel, so we wanted to represent our current industries.”
Cleveland-Cliffs displayed some of its electrical steel product at a tent in the T.W. Phillips’ Building parking lot, alongside other businesses and organizations like United Plate Glass and Butler Technologies.
Aaron Steinheiser, general manager of Cleveland-Cliffs Butler Works plant, showcased a transformer created by the company, which he said is made with grain-oriented electrical steel. The company is the last in the U.S. to make this type of steel.
It’s the longstanding process by which Cleveland-Cliffs makes steel and its products that has kept it going for so long, Steinheiser hypothesized, and he said the expo Saturday was a good opportunity to show off the product of its process. He explained to a child and his father Saturday at the expo how the transformer converts electricity and distributes it into homes all without any moving parts.
“It’s nice to show off what we do,” Steinheiser said.
United Plate Glass also had a tent at the expo, with different types of glass splayed out on the table that demonstrated many of the products the 1980s-founded company makes.
Bob Craig, purchasing manager for United Plate Glass, said the company made the glass seen at Butler Memorial Hospital, as well as the Carvana Pittsburgh, which can be seen near from Interstate 79 near the Bridgeville exit. Craig said the company has many glass products created by many employees who live in the area, and the business is constantly hiring.
“We’re hiring, so we are pushing that out,” Craig said.
Ben Hughes, a photographer whose photograph of Butler inspired the theme of Steeples and Stacks, attended the expo alongside the other festivities that are part of the two-day event. He said it is an honor to see his photo become more than an image for the city and its people.
“Just thinking how one photo, one idea just brings everyone in,” Hughes said. “The photo is becoming not just mine anymore.”
The Industry Expo was scheduled to take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
