Today, ArcelorMittal, the world’s leading steelmaker, and is more than three times the size of Nippon Steel, the second largest. Not only in terms of volume but also in terms of innovation, ArcelorMittal has managed to excel in comparison to its competitors. ArcelorMittal invests to develop other solutions to produce clean energy. During the latest BATIMAT, the world’s biggest building and construction fair, ArcelorMittal was awarded a Golden Innovation Medal for Arsolar, a solar panel designed and marketed by Arval, part of ArcelorMittal Construction.
Being a responsible business leader, Mittal is a firm believer of Corporate Social Responsibility and is an active philanthropist. He is a member of a quite a few trusts which work for society welfare. He also has a very active Corporate Social Responsibility program in his organization aiming to produce Safe Sustainable Steel. ArcelorMittal operates a foundation known as ArcelorMittal foundation, which provides support to many different community projects around the world.
His business philosophy emphasizes on improving and consolidating weak and fragmented industries. He believes in core values of Sustainability, Quality and Leadership. He is dedicated to the development and the well being of the communities in which ArcelorMittal operates and this is one of Group’s Corporate Responsibilities and general corporate citizenship. In general, steel demand is said to be a yardstick by which the strength of world’s economies is measured.
This is because of use of steel in automotives, constructions of commercial and residential properties, development of roads as well as production of various consumer appliances. The economic slump last year caused this demand to fall significantly and all the prominent steel companies struggled to keep up their profitability and ended in reporting considerable losses. Mittal’s business acumen and insight make him cautious in his actions. He is aware of the fact that the profits have decreased due to slowdown in the economy, chiefly in the US and Western Europe.
According to Arcelor-Mittal, the necessity of closing the steel plants permanently might have lessened to a certain degree but the recovery still seems to be quite unpredictable and thus the odds of possible closures are still hanging in the horizon. The firm’s second quarter losses included $1. 2 billion of inventory write-downs and costs due to temporary unemployment. (Robert Guy Matthews. (2009, July 30). Corporate News). References Kanno, A. , & Datar, S. (2009, April). Nippon Steel Corporation.
Harvard Business School Cases, Retrieved September 19, 2009, from Business Source Complete database. Robert Guy Matthews. (2009, July 30). Corporate News: Arcelor Reports Loss, but Offers Upbeat Outlook — Steelmaker Expects Strengthening Recovery Despite Weak Demand in U. S. , Western Europe; China Supplies Boost. Wall Street Journal (Eastern Edition), p. B. 3. Retrieved September 19, 2009, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 1809075851). http://www. businessweek. com/magazine/content/07_16/b4030008. htm http://www. forbes. com/2005/03/10/cx_pm_0310mittal_bill05. html
