Steel Dynamics Moving into Phase I of Pittsboro Mill Expansion

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)-- Steel Dynamics Incorporated (NASDAQ:STLD) (SDI) (Fort Wayne, Indiana) has divided an expansion project into two phases. A steel mill in Pittsboro, Indiana, is getting a $35 million facelift, and a special-bar-quality (SBQ) plant will undergo an expansion, which has been billed as a redesign.

Phase I: steel mill expansion
Of the $35 million expected to be spent on the entire project, $10 million will go toward modifications to the caster, and the remainder will go toward upgrades to the reheat furnace and rolling mill that will include two new roughing mills. Demolition, foundation and other site preparation for the expansion all fall under Phase I and should take no more than a week to 10 days to complete. Mid-April is the tentative date set for kick-off on this portion of the capital venture.

SDI has selected Siemens Metals & Mining Technologies (Alpharetta, Georgia) as the engineering and construction firm to provide engineering, equipment and counseling services. SDI is responsible for the major portion of the equipment installation.

Phase II: SBQ plant expansion
The SBQ plant expansion will see production levels increase from 500,000 tons per year to about 725,000 tons per year. Major equipment (roughing mills) to be installed in Phase II is expected to be on site in June 2008. Any holdup in the start of installation in this phase would be due to the company's need to remain in production during a period of good sales. The tentative start date for Phase II is set for the fourth quarter of 2008 or the first quarter of 2009. The entire project is expected to be completed by late 2009.

SDI first announced in 2002 that it purchased Qualitech Steel SBQ LLC's idled SBQ mini-mill assets in Pittsboro for $45 million. The mill was built as a greenfield operation in 1998. SDI went to work on it in 2004 with a revamp from its original design to produce a larger range of engineered steel products. 2006 saw the addition of an on-site bar-processing and finishing area.

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