“My name is Hortensia Delgado Solís and I joined ArcelorMittal in 2008 as a trainee within the Controlling department, more specifically in the area of Costs and Budgeting. 2 years later, I was given the opportunity to enter the Project Engineering team, where I have been working for over a year now. 

The main mission of our department is to support the production, maintenance and process departments as they develop their improvement, operational continuity and safety projects. Our job is to provide them with solutions to problems that otherwise might hinder the production flow. We also carry out projects that go hand-in-hand with the strategic objectives set for the year.

Working in a predominately male working environment is often considered a difficult, almost impossible task for a young woman. But for me, it has been a truly enriching experience.

Since University, I have been surrounded mostly by men. Did you know that only 3% of the students in Mechanic Engineering are women? My experience gave me the necessary tools to later enter and then evolve in a working environment composed almost exclusively of men.

What I think is the most interesting in this ‘atypical’ situation is the 2-way learning experience that takes place between me and my colleagues. On my end, I learned to be less emotional and more rational when taking decisions, which is considered to be a characteristic not only of engineers but also of men in general. Women engineers are appreciated for their caution and analytic skills in decision-making. In return, my male colleagues have learned how to be a bit more orderly and better organised. They learned to work with women, which in an unusual situation for them and not always easy. Together, we embarked on a journey of new possibilities to deliver high quality performances.

To those who think that the doors of steel and mining are open only to men, I can say that this is not the case. There are opportunities for everyone. It is up to we women to open or close ourselves doors through the choices we take. In the words of Abraham Lincoln: Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other.

Collaboration: Silvia Solera Vaughan, ArcelorMittal Costa Rica

Around the ArcelorMittal Orbit, the infrastructure for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games is quietly – but steadily – filling the Olympic Park. Looking up at the ArcelorMittal Orbit, nestled between the Olympic Stadium and the Aquatics Center, I could not escape the feeling of electricity in the air. At that moment I was witnessing a London legacy unfold!

It is hard not to get excited: each time I visit the construction site of the ArcelorMittal Orbit it looks different. The landscape keeps changing as new equipment and fabricated parts of the sculpture arrive. This week, a 130 tonne heavy crawler crane is being assembled on site by the team of erectors from Sir Robert McAlpine. The ArcelorMittal Orbit is already 42 metres tall, which is about one-third of its total height, and a longer crane is needed for further construction.

More fabricated parts wait patiently to take their place as part of the whole sculpture. Once the crane is ready, a part of the elevator shaft will be installed. The erectors will then use the shaft as a platform to bolt together joints at higher levels.

As construction progresses, safety vigilance on site grows ever more cautious. On site, one sees rings of “star nodes” – joint sections of steel tubes. Till now, the erectors have bolted each node, one by one, into the frame of the sculpture. As the ArcelorMittal Orbit grows, the idea is to try and minimize the time spent by erectors at heights. For this, the nodes are now being bolted on ground-into rings, which will then be lifted and fitted into the sculpture’s frame. Each ring is made of 8 nodes and weighs about 25 tonnes and will be manoeuvred with a 450 tonne crawler crane. 

The ArcelorMittal Orbit will be completed in May 2012. Until then, we will be bringing you regular updates on construction. Stay tuned!

By Arunima Kumar, Corporate Communications at ArcelorMittal

Taking 55 journalists on a 3-day press trip from Luxembourg to Bolton to London is no easy task – it is not just a case of getting everyone from A to B. We had to take them from A to B to C, split the group, take some to D while others go on to E and so on.

It was a jam-packed itinerary in which we hoped to expose the journalists to as many different stages of the construction process as possible. It was the largest press trip undertaken to date and included 6 camera crews, which brought up challenges in itself. It was an emotional rollercoaster- several times a day my heart would start racing as some new logistical hurdle presented itself. Once it was resolved, I would breathe normally again and start to enjoy myself. Putting faces to the journalists I’d been emailing for weeks, discussing their views and excitement on the ArcelorMittal Orbit and our Olympic Sponsorship gave me a sense of pride that I am part of something that will become a legacy for London in years to come.

Watching the beginning stages in the scrap yard in Luxembourg, the fabrication and welding of the joints in Bolton and finally seeing a piece of the ArcelorMittal Orbit craned into place, at the Olympic Park, as everyone stood awestruck below was quite something.

Coverage since the trip has been plentiful and positive. So from a Communications’ point of view the trip is a success but for me this trip symbolises a personal success too. I didn’t lose anyone, everyone got to where they needed to be, when they needed to be there (more or less) and the thank you emails I’ve received suggest everyone enjoyed themselves and found the experience informative and useful.

Teamwork, sportsmanship, leadership and in particular, the capacity to overcome challenges; all words that perfectly describe the bold enterprise accomplished by Spanish mountaineer, Edurne Pasaban. In early September, Edurne was officially recognised as the “1st woman in the world to climb all 14 eight-thousanders” (8000+ metre peaks). Learn how the ArcelorMittal Foundation, through its collaboration with the Kirolgi foundation, supported her on her way up (and up).

ArcelorMittal Olaberría, Spain, within the framework of its Corporate Responsibility policy and as part of its Community engagement strategy, has collaborated since 1998 with Kirolgi, a foundation dedicated to the promotion and development of sports in the Basque province of Guipuzcoa.

Among the leading projects supported by this organisation was Edurne Pasaban’s mountaineering adventure.

A lesson of perseverance and courage

It took Edurne 9 years to complete this challenge. She reached her 1st 8000+ peak, Mount Everest, on May 23 2001, and summited Shisha Pangma, her 14th and last eight-thousander, on May 17  2010.
When she returned from her last expedition, strong controversy arose over her exploit, as South Korean mountaineer, Oh Eun-Sun, claimed to have beaten her in the race to climb all 14 peaks. But in September, Miss Hawley, the world’s most respected keeper of Himalayan mountain climbing records, informed Edurne that she did not recognise Miss Oh’s ascent of Kanchenjunga and, therefore, declared the Basque climber to be the first women in the world to have reached the top of Everest, Makalu, Cho Oyu, Lhotse, Gasherbrum I and Grasherbrum II, K2, Nanga Parbat, Broad Peak, Dhaulagiri, Manaslu, Kangchenjunga, Annapurna and, finally, Shisha Pangma.

Collaboration: Alberto Carrero de Roa, Ane Larrakoetxea Gonzalez and Ignacio Ágreda Peiro, ArcelorMittal Spain
Picture: Edurne Pasaban and her team, on the summit of Dhaulagiri (May 1st, 2008), show the logo of Kirolgi, an organisation supported by the ArcelorMittal Foundation.