One of the enduring myths in steel is that outsiders (read finance professionals) think all steel companies are pretty much the same. After all, it's just a "commodity" business—right?

People who assign steel to the commodity pigeonhole are woefully ignorant of the huge variations that make each steel company unique. Companies use different raw materials and different manufacturing processes to produce very different products that serve very different markets. And they enjoy very different levels of success as a reward for their efforts.

It's amusing—and sometimes exasperating—to talk to people who really believe that the steel industry is a backward-looking...