Steel Dynamics Discusses Aluminum Business Goals

---

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Executives with Steel Dynamics Incorporated (NASDAQ:STLD) (Fort Wayne, Indiana) said last week they're excited by the prospects of getting into the aluminum business.

In March, Steel Dynamics held a groundbreaking ceremony for its $1.9 billion recycled aluminum flat-rolled mill in Columbus, Mississippi. The facility is designed to have an annual production capacity of 650,000 tons of finished products, serving the beverage, packaging, automotive and common alloy industrial sectors, the company said. The mill, which is planned to begin operations in 2025, is part of a $2.5 billion initiative that also includes two grassroot recycled aluminum slab-casting centers, one in the southwest U.S. and one in San Luis Potosi, Mexico.

During the company's second-quarter 2023 earnings conference call on July 20, Steel Dynamics President Mark Millett said that customers have responded well to the planned expansion into aluminum.

The aluminum flat-roll facility will be located in Columbus, Mississippi, "right across the highway essentially from our steel mill there," Millett said, and will serve the sustainable beverage and packaging markets, as well as the automotive market and other industrial sectors.

"Specifically, we're targeting 300,000 tons of can, 200,000 tons of auto and 150,000 tons of industrial product," Millett said. The mill will be supported by the two satellite recycled aluminum slab-casting centers in Mexico and the U.S. Southwest.

"All the principal equipment has been ordered, we anticipate rolling mill startup around mid-'25," he added.

The aluminum sector currently is beset by "old assets, little reinvestment, heavy legacy costs, inefficiency and high-cost operations," Millett said. He added that a "significant aluminum flat-rolled supply deficit is existing today in North America and is expected to grow in the coming years. And we see a real business alignment whereby we can leverage our core competencies of construction strength on operational know-how and our culture to truly leverage and exploit the technology."

Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Metals & Minerals project and plant databases can click here for detailed project reports on the aluminum flat-rolled mill in Columbus, Mississippi, and the two supporting facilities in Mexico and the Southwest U.S. and click here for the related plant profiles.

Industrial Info is tracking 40 Steel Dynamics projects with a total investment value of $2.83 billion. Subscribers can click here to view the project reports.

Steel Dynamics reported $812 million in net income for second-quarter 2023, on net sales of $5.1 billion. This compares with $1.2 billion in net income on net sales of $6.2 billion in second-quarter 2022.

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 more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).