Zekelman to Invest $150 Million in “World’s Largest” ERW Tube Mill

The mill will also be engineered to allow for world-leading change-over times of less than 60 minutes, as well as special forming and sizing technology for precise dimensional tolerance, the company said. Zekelman Industries has selected SMS as the supplier for the mill, Kusakabe for the milling cut-off and Mair for the material handling and packaging line.

The investment is a firm vote of confidence in U.S. manufacturing and the future growth of the steel industry in America, said Barry Zekelman, CEO of Zekelman Industries. “At Zekelman, we continue with our long-standing goal of creating, not waiting for, the future.”

The new ERW mill will greatly increase the range of HSS products available to the North American market and will help grow the use of all steel products in the nonresidential construction market, Zekelman added. The highly automated production line will create over 75 new manufacturing jobs.

“Over the past few years, we have seen the increasing need for larger, domestically produced HSS in the bridge, transportation and building markets,” said Tom Muth, president of Atlas Tube. “Also, HSS with thicker walls that meet the more stringent width-to-thickness ratio requirements of the AISC Seismic Provisions is in greater demand for lateral bracing systems.”  

“This new mill gives structural engineers new tools to meet the demands of designing and building cost-efficient and safe steel structures,” added Brad Fletcher, senior sales engineer for Atlas Tube.