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Show Sunday. February 15. 1981. THE HERALD. Provo, Utah-P- age 31 WORK Battle Is Won at Geneva But the Fight Is Going On A By ROBERT MCDOLGALL Herald City Editor The negotiations on Geneva s air and water quality drapped on through most of 1980 and despite persistent rumors that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPAI and U.S. Steel were not far apart, the final singing was elusive There seemed to be no end of clarifying studies, amended drafts, loose ends and negotiating sessions as the months passed. But finally came the day in 1980. when the official announcement was made that an agreement had been reached L. F. Greig, vice president and general manager of U S Steel s Western Steel Divison. said the agreement would make Geneva acceptable and still " competitive in the steel market The $94 million agreement calls for $78 million to be spent on air cleanup and $16.5 million to improve water dumped into Utah Lake Because of the long delay in the negotiating process, equipment was placed on order and work was begun on some of the cleanup equipment before the October signing Henry A Huish. the plant's general superintendent, explained that the air control equipment had to be working bv the end of 1981 The water equipment was not required to be in place before mid 1984 It is estimated. Huish explained, that the equipment w ill add $17 million a year o the operating costs of the plant At that conference. Greig paid tribute to the outstanding work done by members of the Coalition to Save Geneva He noted that there have been improvements in performance at the plant to bring its steel into a more com petitive position with foreign steel And he said the decision by I S Steel to make the $94 million investment in Geneva was a vote of confidence for the future of steel making in Utah County When Geneva went into operation in early 1944 the entire plant cost $196 million, or about twice as much as is now being spent on pollution control equipment There is considerable speculation about the lung term future of the plant although it appears in the near tuture the Geneva should remain profitable During the war Utah County was chosen as the site for the plant because of its proximity to sources ot iron ore. coal, limestone, dolomite and lrch water supplies all tied together b a good transportation system With the eventual depict urn ot some of those resources likely and with a xsPf GENEVA kl marked reluctance of the federal government to take steelmaking under its wing b imposing tariff s against bussidized foreign steel, the plant could again become a borderline producer "While the battle has been won said Rep Dan Marriott H I tan The war goes on " We still need to work for solutions to the whole problem like ending foreign sttel dumping and allowing flexible environmental rules and more local control. Marriott savs The Citizen's Coalition was revived for a last push. i v -- 1 m. One of the press conferences announcing settle ment with EPA. Geneva's Henry Huish drinks mill's water effluent. Posing for the cover picture of their recently published employees' handbook, these workers symbolize Valtek's team spirit. O Planning and working smarten thafs Valtek's chaUenge for 1981. And the key to doing that is the kind of employee teamwork that has characterized Valtek throughout its history. Valtek's 270 member team at International Headquarters in Springville is highly regarded within the tightly competitive automatic control valve business for the excellence of its workmanship, and for its ability to score against much bigger teams in the business. As the photos at right suggest, y employee training, team-plateameven and with suppliers, are ing up with the computer part of Valtek's game plan for 481. 15-ye- ar Valtek's biggest challenge for 1981: "Working as a team to increase our earnings by working smarter, to live with the reality of inflation by planning smarter, and to reap the benefits of our past expenditures for new product development and computerization of our operations," say President Charles L. Bates and Executive V.P. Larry Haines. Playing well at Valtek means accepting new responsibilities, learning new techniques, branching upward and outward. The machinist trainee shown above, for example, has learned to operate six different machines. She's on her way to Valtek becoming a machine operator, joining some of Utah's most proficient machinists. full-fleg- with a computer, these employees in Sales take full advantage of money saving techniques in processing Valtek control valve orders from around the world. Teaming up Valtek's hundreds of are an important Valtek team. They the of part provide everything from metal castings and machine tools to printed materials, paints and office supplies. Many Valtek supplier organizations are and operated. d suppliers state-of-the-a- rt cost-cuttin- g, Utah-owne- Automatic control valves for a world market r. |