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
Cliffs steadfast in commitment to Middletown decarb project
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. on Monday reiterated its commitment to a major decarbonization project at its Middletown Works in Ohio, despite an earlier report suggesting otherwise.
Nucor expects lower steel prices to drive Q3 earnings decline
Nucor blamed lower steel prices for weaker third-quarter results in earnings guidance released on Tuesday.
SDI guides toward lower Q3 earnings on weaker flat-rolled steel prices
Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) expects lower third-quarter earnings on the heels of “meaningfully lower” prices at its flat-rolled steel operations. The Fort Wayne, Ind.-based steelmaker expects Q3’24 earnings of $1.94 to $1.98 per diluted share, according to figures released on Monday. That’s down from $2.72 per share in Q2’24 and down from $3.47 per share in Q3’23.
Stelco shareholders OK $2.5B sale to Cliffs
Stelco shareholders voted overwhelmingly on Monday to OK the $2.5-billion sale of the Canadian flat-rolled steelmaker to Cleveland-Cliffs. Indeed, 99.97% of those who cast ballots voted to approve the deal, according the Hamilton, Ontario-based steelmaker.
White House may delay decision on USS-Nippon deal until after election: report
The White House decision on blocking Nippon Steel’s play for Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel might be pushed back until after the upcoming presidential election, according to a report in the Washington Post.