Benteler Steel/Tube selects Louisiana for U.S. expansion

Benteler Steel/Tube has announced it will build a new hot rolling tube mill in Caddo, La., strengthening the company's position in the North American oil country tubular goods (OCTG) market. The facility — a total investment of nearly $900 million — will be the company's first U.S. production facility and will create more than 1,000 construction jobs, an estimated 675 full-time jobs when at full capacity, and numerous indirect jobs with suppliers and service providers to the plant.

Currently more than 25 percent of the company's products flow into North America. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the U.S. is expected to increase crude oil and natural gas consumption over the next 25 years. With a renewed focus by the U.S. government to reduce energy imports and increase domestic production capacities, demand for Benteler's products in the U.S. is expected to increase.

The company manufactures seamless hot-rolled steel tubes and seamless cold-drawn precision steel tubes, serving international customers in the automotive, OCTG/line pipe, heat transfer, hydraulics/precision engineering, and construction sectors.