New England's First

When it comes to steel, New England thinks it is the stepchild of U.S. industry. Although it is a big steel user, it has never had a fully integrated mill of its own. Last week, after almost five years of planning, the New England Steel Development Corp. announced that it would build a $250 million steel mill with an annual capacity of 1,000,000 tons.

Head of the Development Corp. is Clifford S. Strike, president of F. H. McGraw & Co. (TIME, Jan. 1), which plans to build the mill on a 1,600-acre site with an 8,000-ft. waterfront on Long Island Sound near New London, Conn. Last week the Development Corp. got a certificate of necessity from NSRB which allows it to write off the cost of the mill in five years, a big tax concession. Now it expects to have little trouble raising the construction capital from New England's insurance companies and investment trusts. The Development Corp. may run the plant itself, but would prefer to interest a big steel company in running it. Steelmen have shown no public interest and some have opposed the mill as "uneconomical."

But to many steel-hungry New England businessmen, the scheme makes good economic sense. In the past ten years, New England's textile and leather-goods industries have dropped off while metal manufacturing has increased 75%, employing over 40% of New England's labor force. By removing transportation costs, the local plant should give an even greater boost to New England's metal industries.

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