JSW Steel USA, Baytown, Texas, announces plans to invest up to $500 million to install the most technologically advanced and eco-friendly hot-end facility in the world, setting a new industry standard. The announcement marks the second and larger phase of a much-needed overall plate mill modernization and expansion project that began in June 2017. This is the first equipment installation and upgrade to the facility since it was built by U.S. Steel in 1968, and will have a major impact on many levels.
The addition of the hot end will make JSW USA the world’s only plate mill with a contiguous large-diameter pipe mill, enabling it to be considered a “melt and manufacture” facility in the United States, with a new ability to produce its own slabs to feed the mills, instead of needing to buy foreign slabs.
With Best Available Control Technology (BACT), the hot end’s electric arc furnace was designed to generate the lowest emissions possible for steel production, setting a new worldwide industry environmental standard. What’s more, JSW USA will be the only entity of its kind (for the products it makes in North America) blending scrap with direct-reduced iron (DRI)/hot briquetted iron (HBI), which is more energy efficient and more economical.
“After more than two years of hard work, planning and hoping, our vision to become the plate mill of the future is finally here,” said John Hritz, President and CEO of JSW USA. “Thanks to the ongoing support of so many individuals and partners in industry and government, both at the local and national levels, we’re proud to be leading the way for the resurgence of the U.S. steel industry.”
This overall broader production capability will increase JSW USA’s product offerings, as well as allow expansion into new, significant markets, including defense, energy, pipeline, renewable energy, and infrastructure. The facility will also provide strong support to regional business, OEMs, and value-added manufacturing for steel-making and associated industries. It also opens the door for producing new propriety steels with R & D firms.
