Steel Mills

Upgrades at Indiana and Burns Harbor Coming in 2018
Written by Sandy Williams
November 4, 2017
ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor will get a $100 million upgrade over the next year. The investment is part of $276 million in capital spending the steelmaker plans for it U.S. operations next year.
Work is set to begin on Indiana Harbor’s continuous anneal line, No. 2 coating line and cold mill complex, said Indiana Harbor General Manager Wendell Carter at a meeting of the Northwest Indiana Business Roundtable and Construction Advancement Foundation. The project is expected to improve quality and productivity at the operations.
The mill will also perform restoration work on the No.4 blast furnace “where we’ll change the top and do a bit of rehabilitation on it,” said Carter.
Funding is also earmarked for new projects at the Burns Harbor steel mill in Porter County, he added.
Carter said the U.S. steel industry is stronger since consolidating from 16 companies in 2000 to about six today.
“We have more cost-competitive assets that we can run at higher levels of productivity with no loss of volume or market share,” he said.
ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor plans to hire 75 more steelworkers this year. Another 300 workers are expected to be hired across facilities in Northwest Indiana by ArcelorMittal in 2018.

Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Steel Mills

Cliffs talks DOE funding, blast furnace relining schedule
The future of two projects supported in part by funding through the Department of Energy remains uncertain.

Cleveland-Cliffs open to asset sales
Meanwhile, its Canadian operations have been hurt by the broader tariffs proposed by the United States.

As Q1 loss balloons, Cliffs pledges to cut costs, streamline operations
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. gushed red ink in the first quarter, and pledged to stem the bleeding by idling inefficient, “loss-making operations” and increasing focus on its core automotive business.

Cliffs plans to idle three mills, cut 950 jobs on ‘insufficient demand and pricing’
Cleveland-Cliffs plans to indefinitely idle its steel mill in Riverdale, Ill., as well as mills in Conshohocken, Pa., and Steelton, Pa. The Cleveland-based steelmaker said all three facilities would be idled on or around June 30. Approximately 950 jobs will be impacted, the company said.

CRU: Usiminas may reduce capex unless government strengthens protection
“The lack of effective measures to create fair competition, amid a surge in subsidized imports, is the main threat to the sustainability of Brazil’s steel industry and its value chain,” CEO Marcelo Chara said.