UP Building Facility on Big River Campus
By
Metal Center News Staff on
Feb 28, 2018
Union Partners will build a new steel processing facility on the campus of Big River Steel in Osceola, Ark. The operation will be located adjacent to Big River’s Flex Mill and will include both slitting and blanking lines. Construction on the facility, which will be expandable to 258,000 square feet, will begin this quarter.
Upon completion, the facility will become real-time collaborator with Big River’s operations.
The mill-grade equipment was selected to service the needs of Big River and its customers now and into the future, including the specific needs of the automotive industry, which both companies are targeting, executives say. Planned expansions are already designed to seamlessly meet future needs, as product development continues at the Big River mill that began producing steel just over a year ago.
"The Union Partners team is excited about our new opportunity alongside Big River Steel," said Union Partners founders Chris Hutter and Paul Douglass in a joint statement. "This collaboration will allow Union Partners to supply additional steel needs across the country, while maintaining our strong commitment to innovation. Our leading equipment and testing capabilities will only serve to further enhance the timely delivery of quality steel products into the marketplace."
"Big River is excited to welcome Union Partners to Arkansas, as we continue to attract a full roster of the industry's best organizations to our campus,” said Dave Stickler, Big River's CEO.
In addition to complementary equipment and technology, Union Partners and Big River share an entrepreneurial approach to the steel industry, executives say. Both organizations view investment and innovation as critical to the future of American-made steel and have built their companies to embrace leading technologies such as artificial intelligence and Industry 4.0.