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Steel Dynamics expanding Columbia City mill capacity

Steel Dynamics Inc. today announced plans to add additional production capacity at its Columbia City, Ind., mini mill that will allow the plant to produce a higher volume of rail products and add lighter weight structural shapes and merchant bars to its product offerings. The mill's current primary product is wide-flange beams.

When in full operation, the mill expansion is expected to add capacity of about 600,000 tons per year and bring the facility's finished steel production capacity to about 1.6 million tons per year. About 150 new jobs will be added to the mill's current workforce of 400 employees. Construction is expected to begin this spring and to take about 18 months to complete, with the first shipments expected in the second half of 2007. The cost of the project is estimated to be about $200 million.

The new project will include modifications to the existing caster to permit a higher volume of beam-blank and bloom production, an additional reheat furnace, and a second rolling mill with associated material handling systems. The mill's current melt shop is more than adequate to meet the added hot-metal requirements of the new rolling mill, the company said. The company also said the cost of adding rolling capacity at Columbia City is significantly less than the cost of building a separate stand-alone facility to make these products.