SDI to upgrade, add galvanizing line at Columbus mill

US steel producer Steel Dynamics (SDI) will expand its Columbus, Mississippi, flat-roll mill by adding a third galvanizing line and making other upgrades to increase value-added production capability.

SDI said today it will spend about $140mn to add a third galvanizing line at Columbus, giving it a total of nine in the eastern US with a coating capacity of 3.8mn st/yr once completed. That capacity figure will grow to 4.2mn st/yr once SDI's acquisition of an Indiana mill closes this year.

SDI expects construction of the new 400,000 st/yr line to take place during the next 24 months, with operations scheduled to begin mid-2020. It will produce gauges between 0.013-0.16in and widths ranging from 36-72in.

"The addition of a third galvanizing facility will allow Columbus to serve these existing customers, as well as new customers in the region, and will also further reduce its exposure to the more cyclical hot roll market," SDI chief executive Mark Millett said.

SDI said it will also spend $90mn-100mn over the next 24 months to upgrade process lines and hot strip mill capability at Columbus in order to increase higher-margin production capabilities.

SDI's Columbus mill has two electric arc furnaces and can produce 3.4mn st/yr of steel.