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Liberty Steel is preparing for a second-quarter restart of its facility in Georgetown, Ky. The company purchased the idled mill from ArcelorMittal in late 2017.

The company is currently engaged in maintenance and equipment upgrades. It will begin recruiting employees to the facility in the coming weeks.

Over the remainder of 2018, Liberty Steel Georgetown will focus on ensuring wire rod coils from its rolling mill are meeting customer specifications and, thereafter, the plant will ramp up production to meet customer demand, the company says. During the restart phase, Liberty will hold discussions with potential customers on their future requirements for qualities and coil weights. This will include a proposal to improve efficiency and reduce costs for customers through increasing coil weights by between 20-30 percent.

Initially LSG will concentrate on producing volumes of PC Strand grade wire rod and deformed rebar in coil, both of which will supply the U.S. market for infrastructure. At the same time, Georgetown will concentrate on regaining certifications and approvals the plant previously held with high-end customers.

Excess billet from Georgetown will be offered first to Liberty plants outside the USA and, if available, some will be sold into the domestic market.

“We are very excited about restarting Georgetown to serve the American wire rod market. We’re very encouraged by the number of inquiries we’ve had from prospective customers, so we’re eager to get back up and running at Georgetown as quickly as possible,” says Sanjeev Gupta, executive chairman of Liberty Steel and the GFG Alliance.