SMU Community Chat

SMU Community Chat: May 1 with Hybar CEO David Stickler

Written by Michael Cowden

April 24, 2024

Hybar CEO David Stickler will be the featured speaker on the next SMU Community Chat webinar on Wednesday, May 1, at 11 a.m. ET.

The live webinar is free. A recording will be available to SMU members. You can register here.

Hybar update

We’ll talk about the rebar mill Hybar is building in Osceola, Ark. It’s scheduled to start up next year. The plan is for mill to use 100% renewable energy when the sun is shining. And to use hydrogen as a partial substitute for natural gas when it is not.

Building a mill in Osceola is something Stickler knows about. Recall that he oversaw the construction and ramp-up of Big River Steel there before its acquisition by U.S. Steel.

We’ll discuss what the transformation of northeast Arkansas into a key steelmaking hub means for both raw material providers and steel consumers. We’ll also talk about site selection for a second Hybar rebar mill and the possibility not only of a third rebar mill but also of a flat-rolled steel mill.

The big picture

Zooming out to the broader steel and recycled metal markets, Stickler will talk about what it means to be a “green” steelmaker. Part of that discussion will be what he sees as a “fool’s rush” toward green direct-reduced iron (DRI) in North America.

In addition, we’ll talk about the evolution of the steel industry. One key theme: the use of higher and higher percentages of scrap metal used to make flat-rolled steel.

This will be a “fireside chat” – so be sure to bring some good questions for the Q&A!

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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