Gerdau to idle EAF, rolling mill in Minnesota

Long steelmaker Gerdau is idling its melt shop and rolling mill in Minnesota by the end of June, less than two months after it announced the idling of another mill in Michigan.

The St Paul mill has an electric arc furnace (EAF) with a production capacity of 560,000 short tons (st)/yr and produces rebar, merchant bar, special bars and round bars.

The company will continue to operate finishing facilities in St Paul. Gerdau said it is optimizing its footprint, and that it would use its other mills to supply products currently produced by the St Paul mill.

Brazil-based Gerdau acquired the St Paul mill from Cargill in 2004. It began production on 1965.

Gerdau announced in January that it would idle its melting and rolling operations at its 331,000st/yr special bar quality mill in Jackson, Michigan, beginning in mid-April.

By Rye Druzin