Steel Mills

Upgrades at Indiana and Burns Harbor Coming in 2018

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.