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Released January 11, 2024 | SUGAR LAND
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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Arkansas has seen an influx of industrial activity over the past few years, resulting in nearly $7.3 billion worth of industrial projects presently under construction that are being tracked by Industrial Info. Accounting for more than 40% of this value is a single project: United States Steel Corporation's (NYSE:X) (U.S. Steel) (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) construction of a steel minimill addition at its facility in Osceola.
U.S. Steel has been in the headlines recently, having agreed to be acquired by Japan's Nippon Steel Corporation (Tokyo). The potential transaction is being scrutinized by government agencies and has been severely criticized by the United Steelworkers Union, which wants the iconic firm to remain in U.S. hands. For more on the transaction, see December 19, 2023, article - Nippon Steel Beats Out Rivals in $14.9 Billion U.S. Steel Purchase.
At the time of the transaction's announcement in late December, U.S. Steel said it expected the deal to be finalized in the second or third quarter of 2024. If that's the case, Nippon will be gaining a new steel minimill.
Construction on the minimill kicked off in early 2022. The plant will include two state-of-the-art electric arc furnaces, providing 3 million tons per year of steelmaking capability, as well as an endless casting and rolling line. According to a presentation released by the company, U.S. Steel plans for steel from the new mill to target automotive, appliance and construction end-markets, with a product mix of 40% cold-rolled steel, 30% hot-rolled steel and 30% coated steel. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of this year. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Metals & Minerals Project Database can click here for more details on the project.
U.S. Steel also is adding a galvanizing line to an existing minimill at the complex, which is expected to be completed this summer. Subscribers can click here to learn more.
A Chemical Industry project accounts for more than half a billion dollars in spending. Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) (Charlotte, North Carolina) is expanding and modernizing two bromine facilities in Magnolia, where according to a company press release, the company "produces several high-demand bromine and derivative products at the site used in fire safety, chemical synthesis, oil and gas well drilling and completion fluids, mercury control, paper manufacturing, water purification, beef and poultry processing, and various other industrial applications."
Albemarle is expanding its South and West bromine plants and brine fields, including pipelines from the brine fields to the processing plants and another pipeline connecting the two plants. The projects have a relatively long timeline, and investment is expected to continue through late 2027. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Chemical Processing Project Database can learn more by viewing the reports on the projects at the South and West plants.
Solar power also is coming to Arkansas in a big way, accounting for more than $1 billion of the state's underway projects. One of the largest of these projects will be near U.S. Steel's complex in Osceola. Solar energy developer Lightsource BP (London, England) began construction of the Driver Solar Farm about a year ago, with a build-transfer agreement for the plant in place with the Arkansas division of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) (New Orleans, Louisiana). The facility will use approximately 650,000 solar panels manufactured by First Solar Incorporated (NASDAQ:FSLR) (Tempe, Arizona) to provide 250 megawatts (MW) of power. The project is expected to be completed toward the end of this year, and ownership will be transferred to Entergy. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Power Project Database can click here for more information.
Expected to be completed this summer is the first phase of Westrock Coffee Company's (Little Rock, Arkansas) conversion of a former hygienic paper plant into a beverage-manufacturing facility. Westrock acquired the plant in 2021 and in 2022 launched a modernization program that will allow the facility to produce canned or bottled tea, coffee and juice products. Phase II of the conversion process is expected to kick off in the coming months and will further expand structural modifications and equipment additions, as well as provide a product development lab. Westrock also is building a 530,000-square-foot distribution center in Conway, which is expected to be completed in the coming months. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the project reports for Phase I and Phase II of the plant conversion and for the grassroot distribution center.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Database can click here to view the reports for all of the projects discussed in this article and click here to see the related plant profiles.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
U.S. Steel has been in the headlines recently, having agreed to be acquired by Japan's Nippon Steel Corporation (Tokyo). The potential transaction is being scrutinized by government agencies and has been severely criticized by the United Steelworkers Union, which wants the iconic firm to remain in U.S. hands. For more on the transaction, see December 19, 2023, article - Nippon Steel Beats Out Rivals in $14.9 Billion U.S. Steel Purchase.
At the time of the transaction's announcement in late December, U.S. Steel said it expected the deal to be finalized in the second or third quarter of 2024. If that's the case, Nippon will be gaining a new steel minimill.
Construction on the minimill kicked off in early 2022. The plant will include two state-of-the-art electric arc furnaces, providing 3 million tons per year of steelmaking capability, as well as an endless casting and rolling line. According to a presentation released by the company, U.S. Steel plans for steel from the new mill to target automotive, appliance and construction end-markets, with a product mix of 40% cold-rolled steel, 30% hot-rolled steel and 30% coated steel. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of this year. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Metals & Minerals Project Database can click here for more details on the project.
U.S. Steel also is adding a galvanizing line to an existing minimill at the complex, which is expected to be completed this summer. Subscribers can click here to learn more.
A Chemical Industry project accounts for more than half a billion dollars in spending. Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) (Charlotte, North Carolina) is expanding and modernizing two bromine facilities in Magnolia, where according to a company press release, the company "produces several high-demand bromine and derivative products at the site used in fire safety, chemical synthesis, oil and gas well drilling and completion fluids, mercury control, paper manufacturing, water purification, beef and poultry processing, and various other industrial applications."
Albemarle is expanding its South and West bromine plants and brine fields, including pipelines from the brine fields to the processing plants and another pipeline connecting the two plants. The projects have a relatively long timeline, and investment is expected to continue through late 2027. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Chemical Processing Project Database can learn more by viewing the reports on the projects at the South and West plants.
Solar power also is coming to Arkansas in a big way, accounting for more than $1 billion of the state's underway projects. One of the largest of these projects will be near U.S. Steel's complex in Osceola. Solar energy developer Lightsource BP (London, England) began construction of the Driver Solar Farm about a year ago, with a build-transfer agreement for the plant in place with the Arkansas division of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) (New Orleans, Louisiana). The facility will use approximately 650,000 solar panels manufactured by First Solar Incorporated (NASDAQ:FSLR) (Tempe, Arizona) to provide 250 megawatts (MW) of power. The project is expected to be completed toward the end of this year, and ownership will be transferred to Entergy. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Power Project Database can click here for more information.
Expected to be completed this summer is the first phase of Westrock Coffee Company's (Little Rock, Arkansas) conversion of a former hygienic paper plant into a beverage-manufacturing facility. Westrock acquired the plant in 2021 and in 2022 launched a modernization program that will allow the facility to produce canned or bottled tea, coffee and juice products. Phase II of the conversion process is expected to kick off in the coming months and will further expand structural modifications and equipment additions, as well as provide a product development lab. Westrock also is building a 530,000-square-foot distribution center in Conway, which is expected to be completed in the coming months. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the project reports for Phase I and Phase II of the plant conversion and for the grassroot distribution center.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Database can click here to view the reports for all of the projects discussed in this article and click here to see the related plant profiles.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
