57. Live from the Hot Strip Mill with ABC Illawarra

On Friday, 29 August 2025, we were excited to host the team from 97.3 ABC Illawarra for a live broadcast of their breakfast-radio show at the front of the Hot Strip Mill at our Port Kembla Steelworks in Australia. The special event was planned to coincide with the 70th anniversary celebration of the Hot Strip Mill, including dedicated interviews with leaders and current and former employees of BlueScope, while also providing a platform for members of the local community to share their memories and family stories linked to the steelworks.

This edited episode includes the full series of interviews and listener contributions from the live breakfast-radio show, all of which has been adapted specifically for the podcast experience.

Chapters

1. Introduction: 0:00
2. Welcome to ABC Illawarra Breakfast with Mel James: 1:45
3. Greg Baldock on the Hot Strip Mill: 3:26
4. Grant Neilsen on Generations of Steelmakers: 13:33
5. Craig Nealon on 100 Years of Iron- and Steelmaking in Port Kembla: 18:09
6. Listener Stories: 30:00
7. Poppy, Russell and Terry Pollock on Being a Steel Family: 31:10
8. Tony Donnelly inside the Hot Strip Mill: 38:07
9. Listener Stories: 44:35
10. Tania Archibald on BlueScope Now and in the Future: 51:22
11. Shannon Ballard on the Plate Mill Upgrade: 1:05:40
12. Michael Yiend on the Port Kembla Land Transformation: 1:11:15
13. Listener Stories: 1:21:18
14. Rebecca Shaw on Quality Control: 1:23:12
15. Listener Stories: 1:25:57
16. Justin Reed on the No. 6 Blast Furnace Reline Project: 1:26:42
17. Nikki McCarthy-Hicks on Tours with Inside Industry: 1:32:06
18. Final Listener Stories and Breakfast Outro: 1:36:29
19. Conclusion: 1:38:14
Credits

• Edited by Martin Feld

Find a transcript and further links and show notes on the episode webpage: https://www.voicesofbluescope.com/220...

Originally published on 10 September 2025