SDI to build EAF mill in Southwest US

Fort Wayne, Indiana-based Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI), an electric arc furnace (EAF) steel mill operator, has announced plans to build a new EAF flat-rolled steel mill in the southwestern United States. The company says when that mill is fully operational, the facility will be able to produce 3 million tons of steel per year.

SDI says locating the new facility in the Southwest will allow it to supply the southern part of the United States as well as what it terms the underserved Mexican flat-rolled market. The mill is being designed to be capable of producing a range of flat-rolled products, including hot rolled, cold-rolled, galvanized, Galvalume and painted steel. The new EAF mill will include a 450,000 tons per year galvanizing line and a paint line with a coating capacity of around 250,000 tons per year.

While SDI has yet to choose a location, it says it is exploring several locations to determine the best state and local infrastructure and potential incentives. The company said the site chosen will have a “significant competitive edge” in the region because of logistics and freight costs.

The company expects to begin construction of the new mill in 2020, and hopes to have operations begin by the second half of 2021. The cost of the facility will be between $1.7 and $1.8 billion, SDI estimates.

“We plan to utilize new technologies that will further reduce the gap between existing EAF and integrated steel mill production capabilities,” states Mark Millett, SDI CEO. He says the project “is a culmination of our intentional focus to cost effectively further serve the customers in this growing flat roll steel consuming region, while increasing our steelmaking capacity and value-added product capability.”