Century Aluminum finds a saviour in CEO Michael Bless before inevitable closure

Century Aluminum’s Mount Holly smelter was due to shut down, probably for good; but just a couple days before the inevitable closure, president and CEO Michael Bless stepped in to try one last time to save several jobs from being lost. The aluminium smelter and its workers saw Bless working till the very last moment to strike a deal that would save at least some of the 35-year-old plant’s 600 jobs and nearly $1 billion in annual economic impact.

“We’re pulling every lever we can,” said Bless of his last-minute negotiations with sthe tate lawmakers on a plan to keep Mount Holly operational.

A day later, Bless announced that Mount Holly smelter would operate at half the capacity through the first half of 2016 while the Legislature worked to let his company buy electricity on the open market.

Aluminium manufacturing is a power intensive process. About $150 million worth electricity is consumed a year at the Mount Holly plant. As the company’s contract with Moncks Corner-based electric utility Santee Cooper was to expire at year’s end, Bless wanted to start the new year buying all of Mount Holly’s power on the open market.

However, Santee Cooper officials refused, saying the proposal would raise rates for its other industrial customers. The deadlock lasted for months until in mid-December when Bless and local politicians forged their agreement. By that time, the first of Mount Holly’s two pot lines had already been shut down and half of the plant’s workers were laid off.

Mount Holly would continue to buy some of its power from Santee Cooper for the next six months until a new law, passed during the upcoming legislative session, gave Century the right to buy power from the cheapest source available. The agreement that Century signed with the local government under Bless' initiative has saved 300 jobs from the outset.Bless said he plans to bring back the rest of Mount Holly’s workers as the plant ramps up to full capacity through 2016.