Cliffs advances modernization, consolidation, and line restarts across footprint

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. executives detailed a series of operational moves aimed at improving efficiency, lowering costs, and tightening the company’s production footprint.

The executives spoke during the Cleveland-based steelmaker’s first-quarter earnings call on Monday.

Plate mill optimization

Cliffs is completing major footprint optimization steps at its mill in Burns Harbor, Ind. It is idling the smaller plate mill there after consolidating all 110-inch mill capabilities into the facility’s 160-inch heavy plate mill.

“This removes an inefficient line, improves utilization at the efficient 160-inch mill, and strengthens our cost performance without sacrificing any capability,” company Chairman, President, and CEO Lourenco Goncalves said.

The smaller mill has a stated annual capacity of ~364,000 short tons (st).The larger mill has a capacity of 783,000 st, according to AIST’s Directory of Iron and Steel Plants.

The company is also idling its plate finishing line in Gary, Ind., with capacity the ~640,000 st per year (tpy). The line “is no longer needed,” Goncalves said.

Cliffs said there would be no layoffs tied to these actions.

Electro-galv restart

Cliffs has also restarted the Tek and Kote electro-galvanizing line in New Carlisle, Ind., to support rising demand for coated automotive products.

The 500,000-tpy line had been idle for years but is now running again as OEMs shift more components back to steel. Cliffs said the restart is tied directly to new automotive programs and increased bookings.

DOE-funded modernizations

Management also confirmed modernization plans for the company’s Middletown Works in Ohio. The Department of Energy (DOE) is funding some of that work. Company executives said Cliffs has cleared final internal reviews by DOE. Work will officially proceed once the updated scope is approved by the department, they said.

The revised plan includes a modern blast furnace configuration designed to make Middletown “among the most energy efficient in the world,” the company said. Last fall, Goncalves said the furnace would be relined within four to five years. (Middletown has one furnace, the No. 3, according to SMU’s blast furnace status table.)

Cliffs also said the DOE-funded work on the grain-oriented electrical steel expansion at its Butler Works in Pennsylvania remains on schedule for 2028.

AI infrastructure

Cliffs executives in addition noted ongoing work to use AI in production planning and order entry. The system is designed to optimize sequencing, anticipate constraints, and improve real-time decision-making across the mill network. They said the initiative will replace manual, spreadsheet-driven planning with a scalable, AI-assisted model.

Laura Miller

Laura Miller is a reporter and editor for Steel Market Update. She has held various editorial positions with steel industry publications, associations, and mills since 2007. She joined the SMU team in 2022. She is a member of the Association of Women in the Metal Industries and a past-president of the AWMI Pittsburgh Chapter. She holds a BA in Latin American Studies from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania.