SINTON, Texas—An Indiana company is planning to build a $1.9 billion flat roll steel mill in south Texas and create about 600 jobs.
“We anticipate the project will create approximately 600 well-paying positions, and abundant opportunities for indirect job growth from customers and other support service providers, bringing meaningful economic growth to the surrounding communities,” the company said in a statement.
Steel Dynamics Inc. says the electric arc-furnace unit will be in Sinton, about 25 miles northwest of Corpus Christi.
“We are extremely excited to announce our selection of Sinton as the site for our next-generation, new flat roll steel mill investment,” said Mark. D. Millett, President and Chief Executive Officer.
The company said in a statement on Monday, July 22, that the site is strategically located for the southwestern U.S. and Mexico markets.
Millett said Steel Dynamics has been developing a flat roll steel business strategy for those areas for several years.
Company officials say the mill will be able to produce up to 52½-ton (48 metric ton) coils for the energy, automotive, construction and appliance industries. The site has transport access to railroads, highways and the Port of Corpus Christi.
Construction should begin next year.
Steel Dynamics was founded in 1993 and has grown to become one of the largest domestic steel producers and metals recyclers in the United States, based on estimated annual steelmaking and metals recycling capability.
‘Steel Jobs Are Coming Back’
Nucor Corp. announced plans on Jan. 7 to build a $1.35 billion steel-plate mill in the United States that would create approximately 400 new jobs.
Nucor’s CEO, John Ferriola, attributed the expansion to President Donald Trump’s policies. Trump pushed through a significant tax cut for business in 2017 and imposed tariffs on foreign steel to protect American manufacturers.
“This administration is taking the decisive and meaningful actions that American manufacturers need to compete on a level playing field,” Ferriola said in a statement.
“Tax reform, continued improvements to our regulatory approach and strong trade enforcement are giving businesses like ours the confidence to make long-term capital investments here in the U.S. that create jobs and ensure our success for decades to come.”
The mill is expected to be fully operational by 2022 with an estimated output of 1.2 million tons of steel-plate products per year. The company expects to select a site for the new mill somewhere in the Midwest early this year.
Nucor already operates plate mills in North Carolina, Alabama, and Texas. The new mill will have the capacity to create products which can’t be made at the other facilities.
“By building this state-of-the-art plate mill in the Midwest—the largest plate-consuming area in the United States—we will enhance our ability to serve our customers in the region while also furthering our goal of meeting all the steel needs of our customers around the country,” said Leon Topalian, executive vice president of beam and plate products.
Trump’s tariffs had already resulted in the creation of more than 11,000 jobs by August 2018, according to a tally by Coalition for a Prosperous America, a nonpartisan trade group representing U.S. farmers, ranchers, manufacturers.
“The evidence is that the tariffs are working. Economic growth is up, inflation is under control, many of the tariffed industries are enjoying strong recoveries in output, profits, and employment,” Jeff Ferry, CPA’s research director, said in a statement Dec. 4.
In November, Steel Dynamics announced plans to build a $1.7 billion plant in the Southwest, drawing praise from the president. The project should create 600 jobs, according to the company’s estimates.
“Steel JOBS are coming back to America, just like I predicted,” Trump wrote on Twitter on Nov. 28.
Steel Dynamics announced that it will build a brand new 3 million ton steel mill in the Southwest that will create 600 good-paying U.S. JOBS. Steel JOBS are coming back to America, just like I predicted. Congratulations to Steel Dynamics!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 28, 2018
Trump imposed a 25 percent tariff on imported steel and a 10 percent tariff on imported aluminum in March last year. In the months that followed, steel and aluminum makers began adding jobs and restarting idle plants. By late July 2018, manufacturers restarted mills or announced plans to open new facilities in Illinois, Ohio, Florida, Montana, Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee, and South Carolina.
Epoch Times reporter Ivan Pentchoukov, The Associated Press and NTD News staff contributed to this report.