Pacific Steel Casting Company Explained

The Pacific Steel Casting Company (PSC) was a steel mill and foundry located at 1333 Second Street in West Berkeley, Berkeley, California. At one point it was the third largest steel foundry in the United States, employing 350 people.^[1]

The company was founded in 1934 by Douglas Genger and Ivan Johnson, who had lost their jobs at General Metals in nearby Oakland as a result of the Great Depression. They bought a steel foundry in West Berkeley that had been repossessed by Wells Fargo Bank, re-opening it as the Pacific Steel Casting Company. PSC's business took off with the advent of World War II. The company added another plant in 1974, and a third in 1981.^[2]

Pacific Steel lost a third of its workforce in 2011 after a U.S. Immigration and Customs enforcement audit.^{[3] [4]}

In early 2014, the company filed for bankruptcy protection^[5]

On August 25, 2014 Speyside Equity acquires Pacific Steel Castings, now called Pacific Steel Castings LLC.

The company announced plans to close as early as December 2017, after having laid off most of the employees and selling much of their inventory.^{[6] [7]}

It was purchased by Speyside Fund in 2014. In 2016 Speyside Fund lent Pacific Steel 3.95 million $US at 10% interest and it was repaid in 2018. The company declared bankruptcy in 2019.^[8] By March, 2019 the site was abandoned and the city of Berkeley was seeking input on what to do with the site located in the West Berkeley Neighborhood.^[9] Upon its bankruptcy only executives received severance whilst rank-and-file employees got nothing.^[10]

External links

• Pacific Steel website
• Pacific Steel Castings listing in the Steel Founders’ Society of America Directory of Steel Foundries

Notes and References

1. Web site: Community Issues - Pacific Steel Casting - City of Berkeley, CA. Berkeley City Council . 22 December 2019.
2. Neighborhood News, Pacific Steel Casting newsletter, Issue 4, February 2009
3. Web site: Pacific Steel forced to lay off 200 workers. ABC 7 News. 18 December 2011. 14 April 2017. Quintana. Sergio.
4. Web site: Pacific Steel to undergo employment eligibility audits | The Daily Californian. dailycal.org. 17 June 2011 . 22 December 2019.
5. .West Berkeley’s Pacific Steel files for bankruptcy, Berkeleyside, March 13, 2014
6. Web site: As Pacific Steel in Berkeley plans shut-down, union sues for unpaid benefits. Berkeleyside. 2 November 2017 . 22 December 2019.
7. https://www.berkeleyside.com/2019/11/07/buyers-of-pacific-steel-casting-looted-its-assets-made-insider-deals-according-to-bankruptcy-trustee Buyers of Pacific Steel Casting ‘looted’ its assets, made ‘insider deals,’ according to bankruptcy trustee
8. https://www.berkeleyside.com/2019/03/05/berkeleys-pacific-steel-casting-company-finances-revealed-during-bankruptcy-hearing Pacific Steel Casting Company finances revealed during bankruptcy hearing
9. https://www.berkeleyside.com/2019/03/06/a-vision-for-berkeleys-old-pacific-steel-casting-site-a-hub-for-industrial-innovation A vision for Berkeley’s old Pacific Steel Casting site: A hub for industrial innovation
10. https://www.berkeleyside.com/2019/02/04/pacific-steel-casting-files-for-bankruptcy-top-executives-get-paid-but-workers-dont-get-severance Pacific Steel Casting files for bankruptcy. Top executives get paid, but workers don’t get severance