The AMM/World Steel Dynamics Inc. annual Steel Success Strategies Conference took place June 24-25. Here are some of the highlights—and a couple of observations on things that might have gone better.

The opening speaker was John P. Surma Jr. It was a good choice. Surma gave a polished presentation that held the audience and had good substance. All U.S. Steel Corp. employees and alumni would have been proud of their chairman and chief executive officer. Surma has an unlikely background for chairman in a company that historically prided itself on the rigid practice of "promote from within." Public accounting, Marathon Oil and then U.S. Steel is not the conventional route to the chairmanship. However, it is clear that U.S. Steel has found a leader.

The year 2007 was a watershed year for U.S. Steel, although Surma's comments did not necessarily focus on this. The acquisition of Lone Star Technologies Inc. and Stelco Inc. changed the dimensions of the company. The announcement of massive reinvestment in raw materials signaled a long-term commitment to the blast furnace process—$1 billion to...