SDI plans $76M Pittsboro, IN expansion

PITTSBORO, Ind. (WANE) -- Steel Dynamics, Inc. (SDI) announced Thursday that its board of directors has approved an expansion of its Engineered Bar Products Division located in Pittsboro, Indiana to increase the steel mill's capacity to produce special-bar-quality (SBQ) steel bars and expand the mill's product offerings of high-quality small-diameter SBQ bars.

According to SDI, the expansion is expected to increase the mill's overall annual production capacity from 625,000 tons to 950,000 tons, a 52 percent increase. That expansion relies to some degree on products cast at its Structural and Rail Division in Columbia City, IN.

Upon approval of environmental permits and support from the local and state governments, the project is scheduled to be completed in the second half of 2013 and to cost approximately $76 million.

SDI said with this additional capacity, the company's Engineered Bar Products Division would be among the largest single-site SBQ production facilities in North America.

The expansion includes numerous enhancements to the facility's rolling mill for the production of precision sized bars, as well as improvements in material handling and staging.

The company also plans to expand the mill's bar finishing capabilities for non-destructive testing of finished bars, potentially doubling its inspection capacity.

The principal modification to the mill is the planned addition of a second rolling line that will permit the concurrent production of small-diameter precision and larger-diameter bars. The company believes that the expansion can be accomplished with no disruption to existing operations, as the new line is essentially separate from current operations. Billets for the new rolling mill are expected to be supplied by existing capacity at the Pittsboro melt shop as well as high quality production from the company's Structural and Rail Division.

"We are excited to announce this growth initiative," said Mark D. Millett, Chief Executive Officer. "This investment will allow us to further expand and diversify our value-added product portfolio in a capital efficient manner. Our customers have encouraged us to expand our product offerings as a means of further establishing the Pittsboro facility as a "one stop shop" for all of their SBQ needs. Since start-up in 2004, our Engineered Bar Product's team has partnered with a variety of customers to supply them with high-quality SBQ products. Our team has achieved a reputation for on-time performance, flexibility in scheduling, and consistent high quality. With this new investment, we expect to be able to build on that reputation. We plan to continue to offer these service and quality benefits, along with a broader product portfolio to our existing customers, and we look forward to establishing relationships with new customers."

The increased production capacity will be focused on small-diameter precision SBQ bars (1-inch to 3-inch). These smaller diameter bars are used in a variety of transportation, industrial, energy, and automotive applications. With these products, the company expects to be able to substantially increase its penetration of the markets for SBQ products in the U.S.