SeverCorr Accelerates Plans to Double Capacity 
A year-and-a-half after breaking ground at its 1,400-acre steel mill in Lowndes County, Miss., SeverCorr announced plans to accelerate expansion of the plant. Plans include the installation of a second production line that will more than double the mill’s capacity, increasing its annual production to 3.4 million tons of high-quality steels for use in the automotive, building, agricultural, pipe and tube, and appliance industries.

Although the intention to expand the plant has always been part of the overall strategy for the facility, that growth was originally scheduled to begin two to three years following the completion of the first phase of construction. However, partners in the organization thought it was appropriate for the expansion to begin sooner. 

“Our investors, partners and government officials are very supportive about the building of America’s next-generation steel mill,” says John Correnti, CEO of SeverCorr. “Their belief in SeverCorr and belief in this project are driving the acceleration of the expansion, and we are grateful to have their partnership.”

Expansion details will follow regulatory approvals and finalization of capital structure and equipment specifications. Sever­ Corr will work with local and state officials through this process to define the expansion’s impact in terms of job creation and economic development.

“Our own focus on growth and value creation can be seen in this commitment to SeverCorr,” says Alexey Mordashov, CEO of SeverCorr’s strategic partner OAO Severstal. “The expansion of the SeverCorr facility is a positive reflection on all involved.”

Canadian Steelmaker Algoma Acquired by India’s Essar
Essar Steel Holdings Ltd., a subsidiary of India’s Essar Global Ltd., has agreed to acquire Canada’s Algoma Steel Inc. for approximately $1.85 billion (Canadian). Essar will pay about $56 per share for all of the common shares of the Canadian steelmaker.

“The board of directors unanimously supports the Essar proposal as it reflects a significant premium to the historical share price of Algoma,” says Chairman Benjamin Duster. “This transaction will also benefit Algoma’s employees and the city of Sault Ste. Marie, as it will result in new ownership that is committed to investment in Algoma’s facilities to support growth and business sustainability.”

The deal must be approved by at least two-thirds of Algoma’s shareholders, who are expected to vote on the deal in June. The support agreement provides for payments to Essar in the event that the acquisition is not completed under certain circumstances.

“We believe Algoma is an excellent addition to our existing steel business and also offers growth potential. This acquisition fits in with our global steel vision of having world-class low-cost assets, with a global footprint,” says Shashi Ruia, Essar chairman. “Algoma provides us with an excellent platform for the Canadian and North American markets.”

Algoma is an integrated steel producer based in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, with steel shipments of 2.4 million tons in 2006. Essar Steel Holdings operates an integrated steel plant of 4.6 million tons in India.

IPSCO Acknowledges Talks Under Way on Possible Sale
IPSCO, Lisle, Ill., responded to market rumors with confirmation that it is in discussions about selling the company. The company offered no assurances that a transaction would take place.

IPSCO is one of North America’s leading producers of energy tubulars and steel plate, with an annual capacity of four million tons. With the 2006 acquisition of NS Group, IPSCO operates four steel mills, 11 pipe mills, and scrap processing centers and product finishing facilities in 25 locations across the U.S. and Canada.

New Management Assignments at Steel Dynamics
Steel Dynamics has made several changes to its management structure to align operations under two new business groups.

Since the acquisition of Roanoke Electric Steel Corp. in April 2006, six operating vice presidents as well as various corporate functions have reported directly to President and CEO Keith Busse. Under the new management structure, all operating units will report to two executive vice presidents, who will in turn report to Busse. 

Mark Millett has been appointed executive vice president of SDI and president and chief operating officer for flat-rolled steels and ferrous resources. He will be responsible for the following operations and functions: Flat Roll Division, Iron Dynamics, Shredded Products LLC, Mesabi Nugget and corporate Ferrous Resources and Logistics. 

Dick Teets has been appointed executive vice president of SDI, and president and COO for Steel Shapes and Building Products. Teets will be responsible for the company’s operations that make long steel products, specialty steel products and fabricated steel products. Currently, these operations include the Structural and Rail Division, the Engineered Bar Products Division, the Roanoke Bar Division, Steel of West Virginia Inc., and New Millennium Building Systems LLC.

Also, Gary Heasley has been appointed executive vice president for strategic planning and business development, focusing on organic growth and mergers and acquisitions, and Theresa Wagler has been appointed vice president and chief financial officer.

All of the executives will be based at the corporate offices of Steel Dynamics in Fort Wayne.

“In light of the company’s rapid growth in recent years, and substantial future growth opportunities, we have re-examined our organizational structure and concluded that the way forward for Steel Dynamics is to align management to focus on four key areas: flat steel products, long steel products, ferrous resources, and downstream operations,” says Keith Busse, whose title changed to chairman and CEO under the new structure.

The company also announced that three SDI managers have been assigned new division management responsibilities. Glenn Pushis, has been appointed to the position of vice president and general manager of the flat-roll division at Butler, Ind.; John Nolan is vice president and general manager of the structural and rail division at Columbia City; and Barry Schneider is vice president and general manager of engineered bar products at Pittsboro.

Also, Thomas Hartman has been appointed vice president and corporate controller, and Mary Fink is the vice president of tax and benefits.

U.S. Steel Forms Venture with Korea’s POSCO
United States Steel Corp., Pittsburgh, has entered an agreement to form a joint venture with POSCO, the Republic of Korea’s leading steel producer, and SeAH Steel Corp., a manufacturer of tubular products in Korea. The venture plans to construct a manufacturing facility capable of producing 300,000 net tons of spiral welded tubular products in the 24-inch to 64-inch outside diameter range. The newly formed joint venture will be named United Spiral Pipe LLC.

Under terms of the agreement, U. S. Steel and POSCO will each hold a 35 percent ownership interest in the joint venture, with the remaining 30- percent ownership interest being held by SeAH. The joint venture investment will total approximately $93 million, and profits of the joint venture will be shared between the partners based upon their respective ownership interests. The new spiral welded facility, which is expected to begin production in 2008, will be located adjacent to the USS-POSCO Industries facilities in Pittsburg, Calif., on land currently owned by UPI.

“POSCO has been a valued partner at UPI for more than 20 years, and we look forward to expanding our relationship with POSCO through this new joint venture,” says U.S. Steel Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John P. Surma. “We also look forward to working with SeAH, whose expertise in producing and marketing spiral welded tubular products will be a valuable asset for the joint venture.”

Spiral Welded Pipe Mill Built at Trinity Products
Trinity Products Inc., St. Louis, has built the first new spiral welded steel pipe mill with Power Wave Technology in the region. The new facility will be the largest expansion project to date for the company and will measure a total of 65,000 square feet.

Construction of the building began in January, with mill installation completed at the end of February.  The facility was scheduled to begin production in late March.

“Trinity is excited to be building this state-of-the-art facility. Solving problems for our customers just got a lot easier,” says Robert Griggs, president. “With this facility, we will be one of the few companies in the U.S. that can manufacture API pipe, as well as the only company in the U.S. that has the joint capabilities to fabricate, manufacture and distribute steel.”

The mill will increase the company’s production capabilities, allowing for the production of steel pipe ranging from 16-inch outside diameter to 120-inch, or 10-feet, with one-inch thickness. A hydrotester will be installed late this year, allowing Trinity to manufacture American Petroleum Institute pipe.  

The facility’s location, at Truman Boulevard and Highway 370, was chosen because of its proximity to railroad lines. It will contain a second spur, which will allow Trinity to load and unload shipments for other companies as well.

Arcelor Mittal Finalizes Acquisition of Sicarsta
Arcelor Mittal has finalized the acquisition of Mexican producer Sicartsa from Grupo Villacero for $1.43 billion. Sicartsa is a fully integrated producer of long steel, with an annual capacity of 2.7 million tons.

In addition to the steelmaking facility at Lázaro Cárdenas, next to Arcelor Mittal’s Lázaro Cárdenas works, the acquisition includes Metaver, a minimill, Sibasa and Camsa, two rolling mills in Celaya and Tultitlán, as well as Border Steel, a minimill in Texas.

Arcelor Mittal has also entered into a 50/50 commercial joint venture with Grupo Villacero, active in the distribution and trading of Arcelor Mittal long products in Mexico and in the southwestern U.S., capitalizing on Villacero’s commercial network.  

Croatian Fund Accepts
Bid by CMC for Pipe Mill
The Croatian Privatization Fund and Croatian government have accepted a second bid from the Commercial Metals Co., Irving, Texas, for the Valjaonica Cijevi Sisak mill. The bid for the electric arc furnace-based steel pipe company was made through the company’s Swiss subsidiary, Commercial Metals Inter­ national AG.

“Through better utilization of existing capacities and increasing sales through our marketing and distribution group, we believe the pipe mill will become a profitable operation in line with our corporate financial targets,” says Hanns Zoellner, president of CMC’s marketing and distribution segment.

The Sisak mill has pipe-making capacity of about 305,000 tons annually.

Earlier in the month, Commercial Metals submitted a bid to acquire Zeljezara Split d.d. Kastel Sucurac from the Croatian Privatization Fund. Split is an electric arc furnace steel reinforcing bar mill with a wire mesh facility.

CMI was reportedly one of six companies who submitted bids in connection with the proposed privatization of Split, which has approximately 170,000 tons of rebar capacity along with 30,000 tons of mesh capacity. 

“We are very excited about the prospects for Split and look forward to promptly commencing discussions with the fund to conclude a purchase contract,” says Zoellner.

Revere to Close New Bedford Mill
Revere Copper Products Inc., Rome, N.Y., is closing its New Bedford, Mass., plate and sheet mill over the next six months.

The company cited higher energy costs, plus the high costs of manufacturing in the United States, as the reason behind the decision to close the mill, which produces copper and copper alloy industrial plate and sheet.

Competition from German manufacturers of the same product also contributed to the closure, executives say.

Alcan Allies with Saudi Mine
Alcan has agreed to a joint venture with Saudi Arabian mining company Ma’aden to develop a proposed $7 billion integrated aluminum “mine-to-metal” project including bauxite mining, alumina refining, power generation and aluminum smelting. Alcan would hold a 49 percent stake in the project and would provide technology and operating management support, with Ma’aden holding the balance of 51 percent ownership.

“This world-class project has an ideal combination of competitive energy resources, local bauxite, well-developed infrastructure and favorable logistics,” says Dick Evans, president and chief executive officer of Alcan Inc. “Consistent with Alcan’s primary metal strategy, this project has the potential to achieve one of the lowest operating costs in the industry and become one of the world’s largest smelters.”

ISM April Survey Shows Growth in Manufacturing
Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in April for the third consecutive month, while the overall economy grew for the 66th consecutive month, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest Report On Business from the Institute for Supply Management.

“Manufacturing activity increased in April as the PMI reflects accelerating growth for the month. New Orders and Production improved significantly as did Employment. Manufacturers are now in their ninth month of inventory reduction, so supply chains are generally in balance. On the negative side, prices continue to rise at a rapid rate with metals and energy being the areas of greatest concern to buyers,” said Norbert J. Ore, chair of the Manufacturing Business Survey Committee.

Manufacturing growth accelerated in April as the PMI registered 54.7 percent, an increase of 3.8 percentage points when compared to March’s reading of 50.9 percent. A reading above 50 percent indicates that the manufacturing economy is generally expanding; below 50 percent indicates that it is generally contracting. A PMI in excess of 41.9 percent, over a period of time, generally indicates an expansion of the overall economy. Therefore, the PMI indicates that both the overall economy and the manufacturing sector are growing.

“The past relationship between the PMI and the overall economy indicates that the PMI average for January through April (51.8 percent) corresponds to a 3.1 percent increase in real gross domestic product annually. In addition, if the PMI for April (54.7) is annualized, it corresponds to a 4 percent increase in real GDP annually,” Ore said.

ISM’s New Orders Index surged to 58.5 percent in April. The index is 6.9 percentage points higher than the 51.6 percent reported in March.

ISM’s Production Index registered 57.3 percent in April, 4.3 percentage points higher than the 53 percent reported in March. April is the third consecutive month of production growth for manufacturers.

ISM’s Employment Index registered 53.1 percent in April, which is an increase of 4.4 percentage points when compared to March’s reading of 48.7 percent.

Manufacturers’ inventories registered 46.3 percent in April, a 1.2 percentage point decrease when compared to March’s reading of 47.5 percent. This is the ninth consecutive month of inventory liquidation.

The ISM Customers’ Inventories Index registered 47 percent in April, 1 percentage point lower than the 48 percent reported in March. The index indicates that respondents believe their customers have less than sufficient inventories on hand (inventories are too low) at this time. This is the second consecutive month in which manufacturers have reported their customers’ inventories to be too low, following five consecutive months that the index registered above 50 percent. Three industries reported higher customers’ inventories during April: Plastics & Rubber Products; Fabricated Metal Products; and Machinery.

Stelco Transfers Hot-Strip
Operations to Lake Erie
Stelco Inc., Hamilton, Ontario, has transferred all hot-strip processing to its Lake Erie mill after the mill’s successfully completed expansion project. The Lake Erie mill underwent a $270 million modernization, allowing it to produce a record 280,000 tons in March. Capacity is now 3.7 million tons.

“The employees at Lake Erie Steel are commended for their success in both completing this extensive project and ramping up production at an accelerated rate,” says Rodney Mott, president and CEO. “The expanded Lake Erie Steel capacity will allow Stelco to take the next step in its strategy to become a low- cost producer by shutting down the 56-inch hot-strip mill at its Hamilton Steel operations.”

The shifting of orders to the modernized Lake Erie hot-strip mill is expected to improve Stelco’s overall efficiency, improve product quality and lower operating costs.

Briefs
PNA Group Holding Corp., Atlanta, has filed a statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission related to the proposed initial public offering of its common stock. PNA Group is a national service center group. Its holdings include Feralloy, Delta Steel, Infra-Metals and Metals Supply Co. Ltd.

Severe electrical storms in the southeastern U.S. disabled one of two potlines at Alcoa’s Tennessee Operations aluminum smelter. The potline, representing approximately 107,000 tons per year, may take several months to restart, the company says.

Bolton MKM Group, United Kingdom, has acquired Cerro Metal Products, Bellefonte, Pa., a producer of copper, brass, bronze and specialty metals. The new company will trade as Bolton Metal Products Ltd.

Mueller Industries, Memphis, Tenn., has acquired Extruded Metals, Belding, Mich. Extruded Metals produces several alloys of brass rod and bar products.

U.S. Steel has received two above-burden probes from Woodings International for its No. 14 blast furnace project at Gary Works. Additionally, U.S. Steel-Serbia has received an all-pneumatic taphole drill from Woodings as part of the company’s No. 1 blast furnace rebuild project. 

Mexican steel producer Altos Hornos de Mexico S.A.B. de C.V. has placed an order with Siemens to expand its EAF meltshop and modernize its plate mill. The order includes the supply of steelmaking, dedusting and casting facilities, plus the modernization and conversion of its existing plate mill into a Steckel Mill. The project is expected to be completed in mid-2009 and will increase production to one million tons annually.

Aleris Rolled Products, Louis­ ville, Ky., has launched a new 3003 alloy bright tread product under the brand name Super Brite Tread. The brand is comprised of multiple gauges that provide excellent welding characteristics, and is available in standards widths and thicknesses as low as 0.045 inches up to 0.125 inches, the company claims.

FKI Logistex, St. Louis, has announced the expansion of its Canadian operations with the creation of FKI Logistix Canada, bringing together the existing airport, post and parcel; warehouse and distribution; and manufacturing systems divisions. Steve McElweenie will serve as vice president and general manager.

Japan’s Kobe Steel Ltd. has agreed to renew its agreement to provide production technology assistance to Republic Engineered Products Inc., Fairlawn, Ohio. Kobe will provide the assistance through its subsidiary, Kobe Technologies Proprietary Inc. Kobe Steel has provided technical assistance to support Republic’s business for many years under prior agreements.

Commercial Metals Co., Irving, Texas, has completed the acquisition of Nicholas J. Bouras Inc., United Steel Deck Inc., The New Columbia Joist Co. and ABA Trucking Co. The acquired assets will be combined with CMC Joist and operate under the trade name CMC Joist & Deck as part of CMC’s domestic fabrication segment.

Koike Aronson/Ransome Inc., Arcade, N.Y., has been awarded ISO 9001:2000 certification of its management system by Bureau Veritas Certification North America Inc. The scope of supply cited in the official award is design and development, manufacturing, installation, service, repair, sale and distribution of cutting and weld positioning equipment; the sale and distribution of portable and gas apparatus equipment; and contract work. 

Knuth Machine Tools USA has moved to a new location to meet growing demand and better serve its customers. The new facility is located at 590 Bond St. in Lincolnshire, Ill., and has allowed for the consolidation of three buildings into a single 60,000-square-foot facility. 

Metal recycling company OmniSource was honored with a 2007 Torch Award from the Better Business Bureau of Northern Indiana for marketplace ethics. OmniSource was  chosen for its ethics policies, focus on employee and customer safety, and  customer-first culture.

Steelscape has announced the newest revision of the company’s Service Offer Manual. Steelscape’s SOM contains detailed information on a variety of service and product offers available. It also provides contact information, showcases new products and provides a list of common industry definitions. The Steelscape SOM is available in a variety of formats—a PDF file, a CD and/or a hard-copy printed version.  

The alloys products group of Brush Wellman Inc., has been awarded a top safety award from the Copper Development Association. The company’s Reading, Pa., facility recorded the fewest injuries in the “Up to 250,000 Hours Worked” category.

People
Giulio Casello has been appointed to the newly created position of senior vice president of business development for Century Aluminum Co., Monterey, Calif. Casello will be responsible for identifying and securing new growth opportunities in the areas of primary aluminum, bauxite and alumina.

Larry Larson, the longest-serving longshore commissioner in the history of the West Coast shipping industry, has announced his retirement as commissioner of Port of Longview in Washington. He served 29 years as port commissioner and more than 50 years at the port.

DoALL Sawing Products, Elk Grove Village, Ill., has named Don Klingstein as director of specialty systems concentrating on sales and support of DoALL’s advanced material handling and sawing systems throughout North America. 

Mazak Optonics Corp., Schaumburg, Ill., has named William Citron it’s new president. He succeeds Tim Yanagisawa who was named director and general manager of sales for Yamazaki Mazak Optonics Corp. in Japan.

Lynton Rowsell has been appointed chief accounting officer for Kaiser Aluminum, Foothill Ranch, Calif. Roswell will assume the responsibilities of vice president and controller Daniel D. Maddox, who left the position at the end of March.

Danny Gascoyne has joined OmniSource Corp., Fort Wayne, as vice president, non-ferrous marketing. With the exception of stainless and alloys, he will be responsible for non-ferrous scrap marketing activities, including sales and purchasing.