Steel Mills

SDI Expects Sinton To Be Back Up in Next Few Days
Written by Laura Miller
July 20, 2023
The hot end of Steel Dynamics Inc.’s (SDI) Sinton, Texas, sheet mill is expected to be back up and running in the next few days. Executives made the announcement on the company’s second quarter earnings conference call with analysts on Thursday, July 20.
On July 7, SDI announced an unplanned outage at the hot mill, caused by caster shear equipment issues that occurred on July 1. At the time, it said it expected that portion of the mill would be down for two to four weeks. The cold rolled mill and value add lines remained in operation during the outage.
Co-founder, chairman, and CEO Mark Millett said on the call that repairs are well under way and the mill “should be starting in the next few days.”
The hot mill was running at 52-55% when it was shut down. He said the plans are to progressively ramp up to an 80% run rate by the end of the year.
The company expects an “even pace of ramp up” in the second half of the year “to get to 80%. It will reach 100% very quickly in 2024,” executive VP and CFO Theresa Wagler added.
The company expects the total loss of volume related to the outage to be 50,000 to 70,000 tons, Wagler said.
President and COO Barry Schneider said that the company “took this opportunity to address a couple other issues” at the mill as well. He and Millett were down at the mill for moral support during the outage. “We anticipate this problem to be behind us,” he stated.
While the equipment and reliability issues at Sinton have been frustrating, it’s still a state-of-the-art mill, Millett reminded those on the call. “The team will get it running full blast in time,” he said, and it “will be the technology of choice going forward.”
By Laura Miller, laura@steelmarketupdate.com

Laura Miller
Read more from Laura MillerLatest in Steel Mills

Steel Summit: Schneider sees SDI ‘on the edge of a very good run’
Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) President and Chief Operating Officer, Barry Schneider, remains bullish about the Fort Wayne, Ind.-based steelmaker’s position in the current market.

Steel Summit: Burritt says USS and Nippon are fast-tracking modern steelmaking
U.S. Steel President and CEO David Burritt told audiences at SMU's Steel Summit 2025 that the iconic American steelmaker’s partnership with Nippon Steel is fast-tracking smarter steel production.

Nucor moves to stop HRC price slide with $10/ton hike
Nucor is attempting to halt the decline in hot-rolled coil prices with the announcement of a $10-per-short-ton increase in its weekly consumer spot price on Monday.

Explosion rocks ArcelorMittal’s DR plant in Mexico
ArcelorMittal reported a "strong" explosion at the direct reduction part of its massive Lazaro Cardenas mill in Mexico.

SDI to acquire remaining stake in New Process Steel
Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) announced that it has agreed to acquire the remaining 55% equity interest in New Process Steel.