Mr John Bell EVP and manager of operations at Severstal was remembered for both his passion to the steelmaking industry and his dedication to his colleagues during his tenure at the company.

Mr Bell passed away on September 24th 2011 due to cancer.

Mr Bell had worked at Severstal's Columbus facility since April 2006 and briefly served as interim CEO earlier this year after CEO Mr James Hrusovsky accepted a new position as CEO of Essar Steel Algoma Inc.

Mr Joe Higgins CEO of Columbus Lowndes Development Link said that Mr Bell loved everything about steelmaking and he was a passionate advocate for Severstal.

Mr Higgins recalled that "Mr Bell said, selling the steel, son, it's not going to be a problem; this steel's going to sell itself. You know, I think at the end of the day, he was right."

Mr Higgins said that Mr Bell will be sorely missed at the plant.

He added that "He was a prince of a man, a steelmaker's steelmaker."

(Sourced from www.cdispatch.com)