The company jumped from 750 to 477 on the list
PALMER -- Wal-Mart, Pepsi, AT&T. Those are a few of the company names you might expect to find on the 2011 Fortune 500 list.
But U.P. residents may be surprised to learn that one of America's largest corporations is located right in our neck of the woods. Coming in at number 477 is Cliffs Natural Resources.
"Over the last several years, we've continued to really grow the company that includes operations that we now have in Australia, operations that we have in Canada and Brazil," says Dale Hemmila of Cliffs Natural Resources.
In 2010, Cliffs brought in nearly five billion dollars in revenue as it met the growing international demand for iron ore, exporting to countries like India and China.
"As the Chinese economy continues to grow, there's a high demand for iron ore because of the need in China to build up their infrastructure, provide consumer goods...," Hemmila says.
Another reason for the mines' growing success is the fact that the sales margin of the tiny iron ore pellets more than doubled from 2009 to 2010.
Two years ago, Cliffs produced a ton of iron ore for about 82 bucks and sold it for 65. Last year, it cost the company about 68 dollars to produce a ton of pellets, and it was sold for over 100.
But some say the recognition isn't just a pat on the back for Cliffs; it's a pat on the back for the entire community.
"When your community is stable enough and can attract and keep a company of that nature, it just speaks volumes, and it's just marketing dollars we couldn't afford to pay," says Amy Clickner of the Lake Superior Community Partnership.
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