Steel Mills
SDI to Buy Kentucky Electric Steel
Written by Sandy Williams
July 26, 2018
Steel Dynamics Inc. confirmed in its second-quarter earnings call that it is in the process of acquiring the idled Kentucky Electric Steel Mill in Ashland, Ky.
“I would put it in the classification of a planned acquisition right now,” said CEO Mark Millett. “We haven’t closed on it, although it’s looking favorable.”
Kentucky Electric, maker of special bar quality steel bar flats, ceased operations in January 2018, laying off 113 workers. In June, American Metal Market reported that SDI was interested in acquiring the plant and restarting the rolling mill later this year.
Millet said on Tuesday, “Our intent is not currently to start up the hot side, just to better utilize our Steel West Virginia and our Roanoke billet capacity.”
Kentucky Electric Steel will add 200,000 tons of rolling capability for Steel Dynamics, said Millett, which will “give us some solid diversification.” He added that KES will improve the through-cycle utilization and earnings profile for Steel West Virginia and Roanoke.
The KES facilities include an electric arc furnace with a melting capacity of 400,000 tons. When operational, the mill produced special bar quality (SBQ) and merchant bar quality (MBQ) flat products for the OEM and merchant markets.
Sandy Williams
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