International Steel Mills
Liberty Steel Group—Bigger and Greener
Written by Sandy Williams
November 1, 2019
Liberty Steel plans to merge all of its GFG Alliance steel businesses into one global entity—Liberty Steel Group. The consolidation will include GFG’s upstream and downstream steel manufacturing, mining and distribution businesses that encompass 10 countries and 30,000 employees.
Liberty Steel Group claims it will be the eighth largest steel producer outside of China with 18 million metric tons of rolled steel capacity and annual sales of approximately $15 billion.
A major focus of the company is sustainability. The GFG Alliance led by Sanjeev Gupta plans to build on its GREENSTEEL strategy by becoming net carbon neutral by 2030. This will be achieved by using electric arc furnaces to recycle scrap steel and using renewable power such as solar, wind and hydrogen.
“We are creating a new force in steel with the size, scale and agility to forge a path towards a sustainable future for our steel businesses and the communities in which we operate,” said Gupta at the 2019 World Steel Dynamics European Conference.
“As a responsible business, the legacy we pass on to future generations is every bit as important as our bottom line. Liberty Steel aims not just to produce top-quality steel but to be an agent of change in the industry. In doing so, we can open the door to the re-industrialization of the developed world by reviving and restoring often neglected industry.”
The Group plans to transition its existing blast furnaces to EAF production and tackle emissions with direct reduced iron, carbon capture and storage. Liberty Group will partner with SIMEC Energy to develop renewable energy sources.
In the U.S., Liberty Steel operates an integrated steel wire rod facility in Georgetown, S.C., along with Keystone Consolidated Industries in Dallas, Texas, a producer of steel wire rod, MBQ/SBQ bar and coiled rebar.
Sandy Williams
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