Search Back Issues

Big River Produces First Coil

By on
Dec. 21, 2016 Big River Produces First Coil Big River Steel produced the first hot-rolled coil on its new “flex mill” in Osceola, Ark. The first coil off the line was purchased by Zekelman Industries and sent to its Atlas Tube structural tube mill in Blytheville, Ark. To commemorate the launch of North America’s newest mill, Big River and Zekelman donated the $100,000 purchase price of the coil to the Wounded Warrior Project and Arkansas Northeastern College. The commissioning of Big River’s melt shop and hot mill follows the launch of the batch anneal facility and temper mill earlier in 2016. The new mill, which connects an electric arc furnace to a Ruhrstahl Heraeus degasser, can produce hot-rolled steel as thick as one inch and as wide as 78 inches. The company claims that when Big River is fully operational, it will produce a range of steel products previously only available from integrated mills. The facility has the capacity to produce 1.6 million tons of finished steel annually. “We are thrilled to be commemorating this milestone alongside Zekelman Industries. The Northeast Arkansas community, home to both Big River and one of Zekelman’s most advanced facilities, has embraced our arrival with open arms,” says Dave Stickler, CEO of Big River Steel.