BIRMINGHAM, Ala.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 21, 2026--
U. S. Steel held a ceremonial groundbreaking today for the new $475 million Quench and Tempering (Q&T) facility coming to its Fairfield Tubular Operations. U. S. Steel welcomed elected officials, community leaders, employees, and others to the facility for a glimpse of what’s ahead at Fairfield Tubular for the future of steelmaking in Alabama.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260920072758/en/
Ketih Watson (Vice President - Advanced Manufacturing Technology & Capital Projects, U. S. Steel), Scott Dorn (Senior Vice President – U. S. Tubular Solutions), Masashi Imoto (Executive Vice President & Chief Strategy Officer, U. S. Steel), LaShunda Scales (Jefferson County (AL) Commissioner, District 1), Kevin Lewis (Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Head of Tubular Solutions, U. S. Steel), Herman Carnes, Jr. (Mayor – Fairfield, AL), David Burritt (President & Chief Executive Officer, U. S. Steel), Angela Smith (Senior Project Manager – Metals/Advanced Materials & Data Centers, Alabama Department of Commerce), Jimmie Stephens (Jefferson County Commission President), Phylis Oden-Jones (Fairfield City Council President).
“This investment is about building capability, creating opportunity, and strengthening American manufacturing. The new Quench and Temper Line will allow us to produce more of the high-performance tubular products our customers need while creating good-paying jobs here in Fairfield. It positions this operation to compete and grow for decades to come and reinforces a simple truth: when we invest in American steelmaking, we're investing in America's future,” said David Burritt, U. S. Steel President and Chief Executive Officer.
Quench and tempering is a two-stage heat-treatment process that improves steel strength and durability. This process helps to ensure that U. S. Steel’s pipe products can withstand the challenges of energy exploration and production. Following quenching, the steel is tempered to achieve the toughness required for subsequent manufacturing and finishing operations, enabling the production of pipe that consistently meets the stringent dimensional and mechanical property requirements of our customers.
The Q&T line will be part of a modernized facility that will strengthen U. S. Steel’s competitive advantage in the Oil Country Tubular Goods (OCTG) market, expanding our ability to produce high-performance, heat-treated tubular products in-house, improve product capabilities, and support growing demand from domestic energy producers. Modernization projects at Fairfield include the Q&T line, a Premium Thread Line, a new training facility, a warehouse, and upgraded changing areas for employees. The project is expected to create about 250 permanent jobs, including approximately 220 union-represented positions and 30 non-represented positions, and support approximately 600 construction jobs at peak. Construction on the new Q&T line has begun and is expected to be completed in 2029.
“We're investing in technology, capabilities and people that will make U. S. Steel stronger, more competitive and better able to serve our customers for years to come,” said Scott Dorn, Senior Vice President, U. S. Steel Tubular Solutions. “That’s good for Fairfield. That’s good for Alabama. And that’s good for American manufacturing—building a stronger domestic supply chain to help meet America’s energy needs and support energy security around the world.”
In November 2025, U. S. Steel also announced a $75 million investment in a new Premium Thread Line at Fairfield Tubular, another project that demonstrates U. S. Steel’s century-long commitment to Alabama. The steel produced and finished through these investments supports the state’s role in a strong domestic supply chain, energy infrastructure, and the national economy.
About U. S. Steel
Founded in 1901, U. S. Steel delivers profitable and sustainable steel solutions. Propelled by its talented employees and an unwavering focus on safety, U. S. Steel serves the automotive, construction, appliance, energy, containers, and packaging industries with high value-added steel products. Steel production begins with our competitively advantaged iron ore production capabilities which fuel our integrated steelmaking facilities and investments in electric arc furnaces. U. S. Steel is at the forefront of creating steels that are stronger, lighter, and better for the environment. This includes our proprietary XG3 ® advanced high-strength steel, verdeX ® steel produced with 70-80% lower CO 2 emissions with a recycled content of up to 90%, and ultra-thin lightweight InduX™ steel for electric vehicles, generators, and transformers. U. S. Steel maintains operations across the United States and in Central Europe and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. For more information, please visit www.ussteel.com and follow U. S. Steel on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and X.
U. S. Steel President and Chief Executive Officer David Burritt signs a beam that will become part of the new $475 million Quench & Temper Line being constructed at the company's Fairfield Tubular Operations in Fairfield, Alabama.
Brady Tkachuk marvels at how the Carolina Hurricanes “give you no time and space.” He and the Ottawa Senators were swept by them last spring.
Jamie Drysdale called the 'Canes relentless, and teammate Trevor Zegras remembers wave after wave that “over a series, it wears you down.” The Philadelphia Flyers also got swept.
By the Eastern Conference Final, Cole Caufield figured, “They finally got to a point where they were kind of unbeatable.” He and the Montreal Canadiens won the series opener, then lost the next four.
Mitch Marner calls their style a “full-court press” where an opponent needs three good plays to get one good look at the goal. He and the Vegas Golden Knights led the Stanley Cup Final two games to one before losing three in a row and the series.
Carolina is the envy of the NHL after winning it all, but that does not mean other contenders can follow that blueprint. The NHL is a copycat league, but the Hurricanes play such a demanding brand of hockey under coach Rod Brind'Amour that it is nearly impossible to replicate without years of perfecting it and getting the mix of players just right.
“It takes time to get to that level,” said Tkachuk, who's now in place to challenge them with Cup-favorite Florida. “They play such a hard way and a tough way. ... You try different ways to beat them. But they’re just so good at what they do.”
Brind'Amour was a grind-it-out center during his two-decade playing career in the NHL, so it's no surprise a guy nicknamed “Rod the Bod” with a reputation for an intense workout regimen expects a lot from everyone he coaches. Predictability is at the center of Carolina making the playoffs in all eight of his seasons in charge.
“We really haven't changed much: little tweaks here and there," top defenseman Jaccob Slavin said. “It’s not a pretty game. It’s just pucks out of your zone into their zone, and it’s just high stress and high compete level.”
It works. Since Brind'Amour took over in 2018, no team has won more games than the Hurricanes.
“They just they have the right guys there,” said Tampa Bay's Jake Guentzel, who played 28 games with them after getting traded to Carolina at the deadline in 2024. “Rod sets the standard at a high level, and you’ve got to buy into the system.”
That means being aggressive and pursuing the puck all over the ice. The idea is to force mistakes and capitalize on them.
“It’s all about the pressure,” said Pavel Dorofeyev, who’s now with the New York Rangers after losing to Carolina in the final with Vegas. “You’re always under the pressure, no matter where you are at in the D-zone, neutral zone, O-zone."
Guentzel said he enjoyed playing for the Hurricanes, but it's not for everyone. Martin Necas got traded to Colorado in January 2025 despite producing at over a point-a-game clip, and the centerpiece of their return, Mikko Rantanen, was dealt to Dallas five weeks later when it was clear he did not want to sign long term.
Marner and others compare the Hurricanes’ style to that of the Panthers, who beat them in the East final in 2023 and ’25. In ’24, Carolina outshot the Rangers 223-156 in the second round but its goaltenders faltered and Igor Shesterkin shined.
One reason it's not easy to copy? Washington's Tom Wilson pointed out, “A lot of times it’s hard for Carolina to play that style.”
“Maybe against Florida the years prior, they play a team that may be a little bit healthier — (the Panthers) didn’t need to play quite that hard,” Wilson said. “You kind of live and die by the sword.”
The title run last spring showed what happens when everything from the net out comes together.
“They did it the right way,” Caufield said. “Obviously, nobody really plays like them, and I think anybody in the league will say that. But the way they do it, it’s detailed. It’s a certain way, and if they don’t do that the right way I don’t think it goes their way.”
With most of the core back, Carolina looks to be the class of the Metropolitan Division and right there with Florida and Tampa Bay at the top of the East. But the Hurricanes, replicating their own success is a challenge in itself.
“Their toughness is their pressure, their skating,” Wilson said. "But, like, will they be able to repeat it all year again and go into the playoffs and go on another run? Good for them if they can.”
See AP’s full NHL coverage here
This story has been updated to correct the game sequence in last year's Cup Final.
FILE - Carolina Hurricanes lead the crowd in a final storm surge with Jordan Staal (11) holding the Stanley Cup during Stanley Cup Celebration in Raleigh, N.C., June 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker, File)
FILE - Carolina Hurricanes center Jordan Staal celebrates after a win over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series June 14, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)
FILE - Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour, right, lifts the Stanley Cup after a win over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series, June 14, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Candice Ward, File)
FILE - Carolina Hurricanes center Jordan Staal (11) lifts the Stanley Cup after a win over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series, June 14, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Candice Ward, File)
