Steel Mills
Liberty Steel Preparing Georgetown Mill for Startup
Written by Sandy Williams
February 17, 2018
Liberty Steel, part of the GFG Alliance, will start recruiting workers for its recently acquired mill in Georgetown, S.C. The company hopes to restart production in the second quarter, following maintenance and upgrade of equipment and rampup of its electric arc furnace to full capacity as soon as feasible.
Over the remainder of 2018, Liberty Steel Georgetown (LSG) will focus on ensuring wire rod coils from its rolling mill are meeting customer specifications. During the restart phase, Liberty will be holding discussions with potential customers on their future requirements for qualities and coil weights. This will include a proposal to improve efficiency and reduce costs for customers through increasing coil weights by 20 to 25 percent.
Initially, LSG will concentrate on producing volumes of PC Strand-grade wire rod and deformed rebar in coil, both of which will supply the U.S. market for infrastructure steels. At the same time, Georgetown will be concentrating on regaining certifications and approvals the plant previously held with high-end customers.
Excess billet from Georgetown will be offered first to Liberty plants outside the U.S. and, if available, some will be sold into the domestic market.
Liberty acquired the plant from ArcelorMittal in December 2017. The Georgetown steelworks was a pivotal part of South Carolina’s industrial infrastructure for nearly 70 years until it was shuttered by previous owners in 2015.
Sanjeev Gupta, executive chairman of Liberty Steel and the GFG Alliance said: “We are very excited about restarting Georgetown to serve the American wire rod market. This will provide customers with a valuable new source of supply to support their businesses, as well as delivering high-quality employment opportunities for residents of the city and surrounding communities. We’re very encouraged by the number of inquiries we’ve had from prospective customers, so we’re eager to get back up and running at Georgetown as quickly as possible.”
“This is the first step in our wider investment program in the American steel industry, which will unfold over the coming months. Based on our sustainable GREENSTEEL model, we believe the industry has a bright future in the U.S.,” he added.
Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Steel Mills
August US mill shipments slip but still higher than last year
The American Iron and Steel Institute reported a decline in the monthly shipments of US mills from July to August.
TransPod, Algoma, Supreme Steel linkup anchors Canadian steel in high-speed transit build
The three Canadian companies have announced a strategic partnership to support the development of an ultra-high-speed transit line from Edmonton to Calgary.
Metallus, USW agree to tentative four-year labor deal
Metallus and the United Steelworkers (USW) have agreed to a tentative four-year labor contract.
ArcelorMittal Dofasco resumes cokemaking after emergency maintenance
The Canadian steelmaker reported on Sept. 30 that “urgent maintenance” was needed in its coke plant off-gas systems. The work required coke oven gas from the No. 2 coke plant to be flared for most of that week.
AISI: Raw steel production ticks back down
US raw steel output declined last week after increasing the week prior, according to the latest data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). Output has see-sawed from week to week since mid-August. Still, it has remained historically strong over the past four months and has held near multi-year highs since June. Domestic mills […]