United States Steel Corp (
www.ussteel.com) has restarted the construction of an advanced electric arc furnace (EAF) steel-making facility at its Tubular Operations in Fairfield, Alabama.
The company previously began construction of the EAF in March 2015 but suspended the project in December 2015
due to unfavourable market conditions.
President and CEO David Burritt said: “We are pleased to announce the achievement of the market and performance stage gates required to restart our Tubular Segment EAF.
“This investment is an important step to improve our cost structure and positions our Tubular business to win over the long term.
“We are committed to investing in the sustainable steel technology required to be a provider of value-added tubular solutions.”
The investment to complete the EAF, which includes modernising the existing rounds caster, is expected to be about $215 million and should add about 150 full-time jobs.
The EAF will have an annual capacity of 1.6 million tonnes. Construction is expected to begin immediately, and it is anticipated that the furnace will produce steel rounds in the second half of 2020.
Mr Burritt added: “Thanks to the President’s strong trade actions and improved market conditions, support from the United Steelworkers and incentives from the State of Alabama and the Jefferson County Commission, we are excited
to add EAF capabilities to our company’s footprint and provide sustainable tubular solutions for our customers.”