Conrad Winkler, president and CEO of EVRAZ North America and the parent company of EVRAZ Rocky Mountain Steel, will no longer be the head of the company, according to an internal email from Winkler sent to EVRAZ Pueblo employees Monday night.

Winkler's sudden farewell announcement, which has not been released externally yet, not only informed employees of those changes, but also mentioned that the Pueblo plant's rail mill will become a solar-powered plant.

"(Pueblo's) long-term position is strong and secure with our investment in the new rail mill," Winkler wrote, "which I am particularly proud to say will become the first solar-powered steel mill in the world."

Charles Perko, president of the United Steelworkers Local 3267, one of two USW unions serving EVRAZ Rocky Mountain Steel workers, said that Winkler's letter amounted to an announcement of the solar-powered mill.

"That's the first time they didn't use iffy language when they talked about it (internally)," Perko said, "which tells me that they're announcing that the rail mill will happen. It left conjectural language out of it."

EVRAZ North America spokesman Patrick Waldron said the wheels had been moving on the project all year, as a projected $480 million is slated to be invested into the rail mill. In 2018, EVRAZ and Xcel Energy entered into a 22-year power contract that included a major shift to renewable energy and the decommissioning of coal-fired units at the Comanche Station south of Pueblo.

"Equipment suppliers have been selected (for the project)," Waldron said, "engineering work has been done, and site work has been done as well. All of those things we said would happen (with the rail mill) in 2019 are (happening)."

Both Winkler's departure and the news of a solar-powered mill were news to the workforce at the Pueblo plant, said Eric Ludwig, vice president of the United Steel Workers Union Local 2102, who shared Winkler's letter with The Pueblo Chieftain.

"They told us internally that a decision (about becoming a solar-powered mill) wouldn't be made until December, when it was going to go to the (EVRAZ) Board in London for final approval," Ludwig said. "(Winkler's) letter makes it sound like it's a done deal."

Winkler, who had been CEO of the EVRAZ North America operation since 2013, wrote that he will be replaced by Skip Herald, currently the CEO of Houston-based Axip Energy Services. Herald is a 35-year veteran of the oil and gas industry who spent the bulk of his career with Halliburton, one of the world's largest oil field service companies.

It isn't certain as to why Winkler is leaving — his note to employees said he will work on a "seamless transition" to new leadership over the "next several weeks" — but regardless, Ludwig said, nobody saw it coming.

"It was a complete surprise," Ludwig said. "We knew nothing. (Union leadership) had a meeting with (Winkler) in March, and he made no indication that anything was coming. It was all business as usual."

Perko said that he thinks that the change of CEO to somebody out of the industry is a surprise, as well.

"I don't know what precipitated it," Perko said. "It's pretty rare to bring somebody outside the steel industry into that position."

Waldron declined to comment about Winkler's departure, since it was referenced in an internal document.

asandstrom@chieftain.com

Twitter: @ASandstromView