Voices of BlueScope Bluescope

We welcome a special guest back to our Port Kembla Steelworks in Australia: Mr. George Edgar, who was the first-ever Wollongong-born-and-raised General Manager of the site. Meeting at the historic former general manager’s residence, Lindenfels, George shares his personal story and insights into how steelmaking has changed over time.

Links and Show Notes

Read a transcript of the episode.
Watch a shorter version of this interview at TVBlueScope on YouTube, which includes shots of Lindenfels and other archival footage and images.
Port Kembla Steelworks (BlueScope in the Illawarra)
Wollongong, New South Wales
Metallurgy
Cleary Bros
Australian Iron & Steel
Lysaght (Australian company)
Lysaght (company website)
FocusOn Hot Strip Mill (TVBlueScope video)
The 'Engineering Building' is now the Sirius Building.
FocusOn Continuous Casting (TVBlueScope video, showing slabs today)
Whyalla, South Australia
John B. Prescott
EPA = Environmental Protection Agency
BHP Steel became BlueScope, following its spin-off from (then) BHP Billiton in 2002.
Our Bond
Mount Keira
Augustus Albert 'Gus' Parish
Learn more about No. 6 Blast Furnace in Major Projects at the Port Kembla Steelworks (TVBlueScope video).
Historical reference to Jerry Platt as General Manager Iron & Steelmaking in Port Kembla
The Dam Busters (1955 film)
See shots of Lindenfels in WIN News BlueScope Community Event and 90 Years of the Steelworks (TVBlueScope video).

 

Edited by Martin Feld

We meet five people at the Port Kembla Steelworks in Australia, including Miranda Du Toit, Callum Bourke, Rosa Tran, Michael Thompson and Simon Took. They are at different stages of their careers but they all have one thing in common: they started at BlueScope as cadets. In each conversation, you'll learn about their career paths, skills and what motivates them in their work.

Links and Show Notes

Read a transcript of the episode.
Discover and apply for a cadetship. Kick-start your career with us in 2023!
Find more opportunities at BlueScope Careers in Australia.
The Cadetship Experience at BlueScope (accompanying TVBlueScope video with interview excerpts)
Chemistry
Electrical engineering
Materials engineering (or materials science)
Mechanical engineering
Faces of BlueScope: Careers in Engineering (TVBlueScope video)
Tyler Leggett — Electrical Engineering Cadet in Port Kembla (TVBlueScope video)
Olivia Tonitto — Materials Engineering Cadet in Port Kembla (TVBlueScope video)
Ryan Jut — Mechanical Engineering Cadet in Port Kembla (TVBlueScope video)
Elisabeth Fry — Mechanical Engineering Cadet in Port Kembla (TVBlueScope video)
Where we are — BlueScope's global sites
University of Wollongong
Sustainability at BlueScope
Learn more about our strategy and goals for climate action and sustainability in episode 25 of Voices of BlueScope.
Safe and inclusive workplaces
BOS = basic oxygen steelmaking
FocusOn Basic Oxygen Steelmaking — 360-degree Tour (TVBlueScope video — drag or swipe to move the 360-degree video)
STEM = science, technology, engineering and mathematics
Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths Careers at BlueScope (TVBlueScope video)
FocusOn BlueScope's Innovation Laboratories, feat. weathering lab (TVBlueScope video)
FocusOn Materials Investigation at Central Lab (TVBlueScope video)
FocusOn Automatic Guided Vehicles, feat. coil shots (TVBlueScope video)
FocusOn Hot Strip Mill (TVBlueScope video)
FocusOn Continuous Casting (TVBlueScope video) — see slab-casting in action!
Interested to see what a podcast looks like? View a screenshot of the editing timeline for this episode.

 

Edited by Martin Feld

In this episode, we're joined by three BlueScope people, who discuss the company's strategy for climate action and sustainability across its global operations—now and for the future. They are: Anna Matysek (Head of Climate Change); Chris Page (Head of Future Technologies); and Gretta Stephens (Chief Executive Climate Change and Sustainability).

Links and Show Notes

Read a transcript of the episode.
BlueScope Sustainability Reporting Suite — including links to our Sustainability Report, Climate Action Report and other resources
Our Purpose & Our Bond
Decarbonised (or low-carbon) economy
R&D = research and development
DRI = direct reduced iron
Hydrogen
Iron ore
Carbon
Blast furnace
The Blast Furnace Process at Port Kembla Steelworks (TVBlueScope video)
Blast Furnace Walk Past in 360 Degrees (TVBlueScope video — drag or swipe to move the 360-degree clip)
Natural gas
Rio Tinto
Memorandum of Understanding with Rio Tinto
Shell plc
Shell Australia
Memorandum of Understanding with Shell
Pilbara, Australia
BOS = basic oxygen steelmaking
FocusOn Basic Oxygen Steelmaking — 360-degree Tour (TVBlueScope video — drag or swipe to move the 360-degree video)
Electrical Energy into Chemical Energy (TVBlueScope video)
Illawarra, Australia
Electrolysis
DRI - Melter - BOF Pathway (TVBlueScope video)
Pig iron
Scrap
FocusOn Scrap Steel Recycling (TVBlueScope video)
EAF = electric arc furnace
North Star BlueScope Steel
Learn more about North Star's expansion in episode 18 of Voices of BlueScope and in a dedicated video on our YouTube channel.
BlueScope Recycling (formerly MetalX)
BlueScope's sustainability outcomes
ResponsibleSteel™
ResponsibleSteel™ certifies responsible production and sourcing practices
worldsteel
BlueScope named worldsteel Sustainability Champion
Glenbrook, Aotearoa New Zealand
New Zealand Steel
Interested to see what a podcast looks like? View a screenshot of the editing timeline for this episode.

 

Edited by Martin Feld

As Health, Well-being and Innovation Manager at BlueScope Australian Steel Products, Steph O'Dwyer discusses her career, the importance of health and well-being and how it felt to be recognised with the Safety Advocacy Award at the 2022 Women in Industry Awards.



Links and Show Notes

Read a transcript of the episode.
Occupational health and safety (OH&S)
Milo (drink)
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971 film)
Blog: Steel Safety Day 2022 — Working at heights by worldsteel
Employee assistance program (EAP)
Deborah Keep (Steph's reference to 'Deb Keep Program')
Women in Industry
LinkedIn post during the 2022 Women in Industry Awards about Steph's Safety Advocacy Award

 

Edited by Martin Feld

As we explore and move towards new alternatives in steelmaking, planning is underway for a massive project to reline the currently dormant No. 6 Blast Furnace at our Port Kembla Steelworks in Australia. To celebrate this and acknowledge the hard work of those who came before, we welcomed back to our Port Kembla Steelworks four former employees who contributed to the original launch of the No. 6 Blast Furnace in 1996: Darryle Lathlean, Peter Cross, Ron Buchan and Syd Webb. Reminiscing about their past work and looking to the future, they kindly shared their personal stories in separate interviews with us.



Links and Show Notes

Read a transcript of the episode.
Port Kembla, New South Wales
Port Kembla Steelworks
The Blast Furnace Process at Port Kembla Steelworks (TVBlueScope video)
Blast Furnace Walk Past in 360 Degrees (TVBlueScope video — drag or swipe to move the 360-degree clip)
Faces of BlueScope: Former Employees Return to No. 6 Blast Furnace (TVBlueScope video showing podcast interviewees' responses on the blast furnace deck)
Faces of BlueScope: Engineers at No. 5 Blast Furnace (TVBlueScope video about the next generation of engineers at Port Kembla)
Interested to see what a podcast looks like? View a screenshot of the editing timeline for this episode.

 

Edited by Martin Feld

We chat with Tay Kruizinga, a Licensed Graded Tradesperson in Port Kembla, Australia, who received the HVTC award for Apprentice of the Year in 2021, along with other significant accolades. She tells her personal career-change story, shares what she loves about her role and explains how other women can pursue work in trades.





Links and Show Notes

Read a transcript of the episode.
Pictured with Tay in MP3 artwork for podcast chapter four: Michael Ruddock (Manager, Southern Regions at HVTC)
Tradesperson
Apprenticeship
Faces of BlueScope: Tay Kruizinga, Licensed Graded Tradesperson (TVBlueScope video)
FocusOn New Apprentices in 2021 (TVBlueScope video featuring then-new recruits)
FocusOn Basic Oxygen Steelmaking - the BOS (TVBlueScope video)
HVTC
TAFE NSW
Apprentice Employment Network NSW & ACT
NSW Training Awards by Training Services NSW
Analytics
Data centre
Port Kembla, New South Wales
Port Kembla Steelworks
Sydney (Australia)
An earlier LinkedIn post about one of Tay's awards
BlueScope and Sydney Water (TVBlueScope video with more of an explanation of water recycling)
Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)
Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths Careers at BlueScope (TVBlueScope video)
Programmable logic controllers (PLCs)
Automation
FocusOn Semi-automated Packing Line at Springhill (TVBlueScope video as an example of automation for safety and efficiency)

 

Edited by Martin Feld