Steel Mills

Zekelman Marks Progress on Blytheville Rolling Mill
Written by Sandy Williams
April 8, 2021
Zekelman Industries has completed the exterior construction of its new rolling mill in Blytheville, Ark. The 515,000-square-foot facility, located next to Zekelman’s Atlas Tube, will be the largest continuous electric resistance welding (ERW) mill in the world and is expected to be operational by September 2021.
The mill will be able to roll HSS from 8-inch to 22-inch square, rounds up to 28 inch OD and rectangles up to 34 by 10 inches, with wall thicknesses up to 1 inch. Currently, the largest HSS rolled in the U.S. is 16 by 16 by 5/8 inches with anything larger imported. The mill will be able to provide the construction industry with domestically rolled large-size steel products allowing builders to avoid the long lead times and unpredictable delivery schedules of imports, the company said. Lead times from the new mill are expected to be in the 2-4 week range. Applications include bridges, warehouses, stadiums and highway signage.
The welding technology will be designed to handle 1-inch-thick sections, and a quick change technology will give the mill the shortest cycle times in the industry, the company claims. The line will feed into a fully automated warehouse, cutting down delivery times and boosting efficiency.
In line with sustainability commitments, the new mill is being built with all-recycled steel, including HSS, conduit and sprinkler pipe rolled by Zekelman Companies.
The Arkansas mill will be in the vicinity of competitors and potential suppliers Nucor and Big River Steel.

Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Steel Mills

Hot-rolled coil market remains slow, market participants say
Hot rolled spot market participants reported another week of moderate demand and ample supply, with no strong signs that conditions will change next week.

CRU: Blackout knocks out ArcelorMittal mill ‘for months’
Truchas works in Lazaro Cadenas, Michoacan, western Mexico. Repairs may take up to six months.

Nippon Steel posts quarterly loss on cost to buy U.S. Steel
Nippon Steel earnings take hit from buy of U.S. Steel.

Atlas completes Evraz NA deal, renames firm, and hires former USS exec as CEO
Atlas Holdings has completed its acquisition of Evraz North America (Evraz NA) and its subsidiaries.

ArcelorMittal: As tariffs slow global growth, Calvert could be a bright spot
ArcelorMittal expects less demand growth across most of the markets it operates in, including the US, because of President Donald Trump’s tariffs. But the Luxembourg-based steelmaker also thinks it stands to benefit from an increasingly regionalized world thanks to investments like the new EAF at its mill in Calvert, Ala.