Local reaction to all this is very positive. I've spent a good part of the morning at the ISU Hall in Weirton, where the phones have been ringing non-stop. People have been coming in and out trying to find out what's going on.

ISPAT International has agreed to acquire LNM Holdings and International Steel Group in separate deals to create Mittal Steel Corporation. Upon completion of both transactions, Mittal Steel will be the largest and among the most profitable steel companies in the world. So this poses a huge question here in the Ohio Valley: What does this mean for local steelmakers and for the former ISG Weirton?

Bill Mckenzie, VP and GM of the former ISG Weirton, and Mark Glyptis, President of the ISU, say it's too soon to tell what this merger means for the local job market. They do say, however, this news is very good news and it gives them high hopes for the future of the steel industry here in the Valley.

Mckenzie and Glyptis tell me the steel mill here in Weirton was the number one tin manufacturer within the former ISG Corporation. Now they are hoping to become the world's leading tin manufacturer and that can only mean good news for valley residents.

From the Hancock County Mobile Newsroom,

Julie Grant, NEWS 9.