Steel Mills

Evraz Breaks Ground on $500 Million, Solar-Powered Rail Mill

Written by Michael Cowden

July 15, 2021

Evraz North America has broken ground on a new $500 million rail mill at its steelmaking complex in Pueblo, Colo.

The expansion – expected to result in the most modern rail mill in North America – is slated to be completed in 2023, the company said.

Evraz

It will allow Evraz to make 300-foot rail segments that can be welded and shipped in quarter-mile segments. Longer rail lengths mean fewer welds, which increases safety.

“New techniques, new less-costly manufacturing processes, evolving customer demand and intense global competition are changing the industry,” Evraz North America President and CEO Skip Herald said.

And that competition is not only about quality, it’s also about emitting less carbon. To that end, Evraz has partnered with Xcel Energy and BP Lightsource to ensure that the new rail mill is powered by solar energy, the company said.

Herald also applauded the local United Steelworkers (USW) union for championing the expansion. “Our respect for the character and work ethic of the Pueblo community is deep, and it is the essential ingredient that ensured this new, state-of-the-art facility would be built here,” he said.

The Pueblo mill sports an electric arc furnace (EAF) with capacity of 1.1 million tons per year, according to the Association for Iron & Steel Technology’s 2021 Directory of Iron and Steel Plants. That single EAF feeds rail, seamless pipe, and rod and bar mills.

By Michael Cowden, Michael@SteelMarketUpdate.com

Michael Cowden

Michael Cowden is editor-in-chief for Steel Market Update. Cowden has covered the steel industry since 2007. He specializes in flat-rolled steel but has also reported on steel long products, steel pipe and tube, and aluminum. Before joining SMU, Cowden held reporting jobs at Fastmarkets AMM in Chicago, the Associated Press in Pittsburgh, and the Cambodia Daily in Phnom Penh. He has also worked as a copy editor and in marketing at the University of Chicago Press. Cowden has a BA in English from the University of Chicago and an MSJ journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Contact him at michael@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7872.

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