Prolamsa Seeks Site
for U.S. Tube Mill
Productos Laminados de Monterrey, S.A. de C.V. (PROLAMSA) has announced plans to expand its U.S. operations by establishing its first mechanical and structural steel tubing manufacturing facility in the United States by the second half of 2009.

PROLAMSA’s headquarters are located in Monterrey, Mexico, 150 miles south of Laredo, Texas. Founded in 1954, PROLAMSA claims to be one of the largest producers of mechanical and structural steel tubing in Mexico and exports its products to Central, South and North America. The company sells in the United States through its Houston subsidiary Prolamsa Inc.

The target of an antidumping suit filed last year by a group of U.S. manufacturers of light-walled rectangular pipe and tube, PROLAMSA was assessed a dumping margin of 5.73 percent by U.S. trade officials in June. The main impetus for the new U.S. plant was to improve delivery times and customer service, which have been more difficult because of logistics, but the dumping dispute moved up the company’s plans, says Jean-Marie Diederichs, Prolamsa general manager. “We cannot afford to have legal issues stopping shipments and making us unable to serve our customers.”

The location of the new greenfield plant is yet to be determined, but will be in the southern U.S. near major transportation arteries to facilitate shipping product all over the country. Prolamsa will produce its entire mechanical and structural tubing product line at the new facility, and plans to add a larger structural mill in later phases of the project.

Diederichs declined to cite the mill’s specific capacity, but says “within two years we will produce in the U.S. what we are producing now in Mexico for the U.S. market.” Currently, 30 to 35 percent of the output from Prolamsa’s Monterrey mill is sold in the United States.

Prolamsa does not plan to change its distribution formula with the move, he notes. The company will continue to distribute about 70 percent of its products through service centers.

At the same time it expands to the north into the U.S., Prolamsa plans to seek new business further south in Mexico, utilizing some of the capacity opened up by the shift to its new plant. “We are expanding our warehouses in Mexico, going further south into new markets. This strategy has been very successful for us,” says Diederichs.

Severstal Completes
WCI, Esmark Acquisitions
Russia’s OAO Severstal has made further inroads into the U.S. market with the completion of its acquisitions of Esmark Inc. and WCI Steel.

The Esmark acquisition was completed pursuant to the merger of Severstal Wheeling Acquisition Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Severstal, with and into Esmark. Esmark, as the surviving corporation in the merger, is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Severstal and has been renamed “Severstal Wheeling Holding Company.”

With the completion of the tender offer and consummation of the merger, Severstal acquired all of Esmark’s businesses, including: Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp., Esmark Steel Services Group and the remaining 50 percent ownership in Mountain State Carbon,

“The acquisition of Esmark represents a significant step in Severstal’s North American growth strategy. Not only does the addition of Esmark bring considerable stand-alone growth potential while also creating synergies with our existing U.S. plants, it solidifies Severstal’s position as one of the leading integrated steel companies in the fast-consolidating North American market,” says Gregory Mason, CEO of Severstal International. “We are now poised to be a leading producer and supplier of domestically produced steel to a region that has a consistent demand for high-quality products.”

Severstal also completed the acquisition of WCI Steel, Warren, Ohio, a leading producer of value-added steel products. The new company will be known as Severstal Warren Inc. Severstal acquired all of the outstanding equity of WCI for a total cash consideration of $140 million.

WCI’s total annual steel-making capacity of 1.22 million metric tons is focused on custom flat-rolled steel for use in demanding applications. Together with Severstal’s current U.S. operations, WCI will solidify the company’s position as one of North America’s leading producers of high-quality flat-rolled steel for the automotive, appliance, furniture, construction and energy markets, Severstal officials say.

ArcelorMittal Plans New Mexican Bar Mill
ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel company, plans to construct a new bar mill in Mexico at an undetermined location. The facility will produce carbon steel and bar products, including rebar, merchant bar and special bar quality material to serve the construction and automotive sectors.

The facility will be based on electrical steel-making equipment with a capacity of one million metric tons of billets per year and a new bar rolling mill with a capacity of 500,000 metric tons. This additional production will be directed to the domestic market, mainly to produce high-value-added steel products, but also to support the government of Mexico’s national infrastructure plan and housing program.

The new facility will incorporate the latest technology and steel processing to ensure it is both energy-efficient and environmentally responsible, the company says. It will also benefit from best practices that have been developed across the group’s operations.

“We are delighted to be making this investment, which underlines our commitment to the Mexican steel industry. Our plan calls for an investment of $600 million. We are presently evaluating potential sites for the mill in Mexico,” says Gonzalo Urquijo, a member of ArcelorMittal’s group management board with responsibility for long products. “The decision concerning the final location will be based upon a number of factors including logistics, supply chain and the availability of sufficient resources to run and operate the plant efficiently and responsibly.”

Nucor Plans Heat-Treat
Facility in Hertford Co.
Nucor Corp., Charlotte, N.C., plans to install a plate heat-treating facility at its mill in Hertford, County, N.C. The heat-treat line will have an estimated annual capacity of 120,000 tons and the ability to produce heat-treated plate from 3/16th inch through 2 inches thick. Total cost of the project is approximately $110 million.

“The addition of the heat-treat facility at Nucor Steel Hertford County is an important first step in enabling the Nucor plate group to expand its value-added product mix,” says Dan DiMicco, Nucor’s chairman, president and CEO. “The addition of this facility supports our objective of providing a full range of plate products to our customers.”

Nucor’s plate mill in Hertford County started operations in 2000 and has an annual capacity of approximately 1.6 million tons. Combined with Nucor’s plate mill in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Nucor’s current annual plate production capacity is approximately 2.8 million tons.

Additionally, Nucor’s subsidiary The David J. Joseph Co. has agreed to acquire the assets of two other recyclers. DJJ will buy the American Compressed Steel operations of Secondary Resources Inc., Kansas City, Mo., and Victoria, Texas-based Victoria Recycling.

American Compressed Steel, which also operates two other Missouri facilities, processes nearly 180,000 tons annually. Victoria Recycling processes more than 24,000 tons annually.

Also in July, Nucor completed the acquisition of 50 percent of the stock of Duferdofin-Nucor S.r.l. for $658 million. The company will operate the joint venture with Duferco in San Zeno, Italy.

Arcelor Acquires All of Turkish Distributor,
Closes Deals in Brazil, France
ArcelorMittal Stainless International is acquiring the remaining 35 percent stake in Turkey’s Uginox Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi from Germany’s Primex. Uginox operates a coil processing and service center in Gebze, close to Istanbul.

Most of its business is dedicated to servicing the automotive and white goods markets. In 2007, it processed about 38,000 tons of stainless steel and had revenues of $102 million.

ArcelorMittal has also decided to gradually double the size of its stainless service operations in Turkey, which will be renamed ArcelorMittal Istanbul Stainless Service Turkey.

“This transaction consolidates our positions in a fast growing market and allows us to follow our key customers from the appliance and automotive sectors in their own development,” says Jean-Yves Gilet, CEO of ArcelorMittal Stainless.

In Brazil, the company acquired a 70 percent share of Manchester Tubos e Perfilados S.A, a steel processor and distributor located in Contagem, Minas Gerais. The new acquisition reinforces ArcelorMittal’s downstream position in Brazil, following the acquisition in April of a 50 percent stake in Gonvarri Brasil. The group now offers an extended range of flat products, profiles, tubes and pipes.

Also, ArcelorMittal has announced a $117 million investment to expand electrical steel production capacity at its Saint Chély d’Apcher plant in Southern France. The addition of a new 180,000-ton continuous annealing line will take Saint Chély d’Apcher’s capacity to 210,000 tons per year of mostly high-end, non-grain oriented electrical steels.

Additionally, ArcelorMittal has acquired the outstanding 60 percent of the shares in Rolanfer Recylage S.A., giving it 100 percent control of the company. Rolanfer is based in Yutz, France.

Precision Marshall Acquires Koncor
Precision Marshall Steel, Washington, Pa., has acquired selected physical assets of Koncor Industries, a division of Latrobe Specialty Steel. Koncor, Wauseon, Ohio, specializes in manufacturing precision ground products from tool, die and high-speed steels. 

The inventory and production equipment of Koncor, will be consolidated into Precision Marshall’s Washington and Bolingbrook, Ill., facilities. The acquisition broadens the product lines that Precision Marshall is able to offer its distributors. Many new products lines are being added, including three grades of stainless steel ground flat stock, prehardened H-13 drill rod, tool bits and a variety of high-speed specialty products.  

“Our goal is to provide our distributors and their customers with the industry’s highest level of customer service, product availability, and product choice for ground flat stock, drill rod, tool bits, and high-speed specialty products. This acquisition is a good fit for us and, in turn, our customers,” says Jack Milhollan, president of Precision Marshall.

CMC Expands Coating, Rebar Operations
Commercial Metals Co., Irving, Texas, has acquired the operating assets of ABC Coating Companies and affiliates. CMC will acquire ABC Coating Company of Texas, Waxahachie, Texas, and another affiliate in Brighton, Colo., plus Banner Rebar Inc., Denver, Colo. and Toltec Steel Services Inc., Kankakee, Ill.

The acquisition also includes Texas-based Rebar Trucking Inc. and the 50 percent interest of the ABC Coating of North Carolina joint venture with CMC in Gastonia and ABC Coating Tennessee. Established in 1978, ABC Coating companies are involved in rebar fabrication and epoxy coated reinforcing bar servicing the Southwest, Midwest and Southeast.

“We are excited about bringing this group of companies into the CMC family. The geographical and product line expansion will enable us to offer additional value-added services to our customer base,” says Russ Rinn, CMC executive vice president and CMC Americas president. All six locations will become a part of the CMC Americas Fabrication and Distribution segment.

Also, CMC will purchase the assets of Reinforcing Post-Tensioning Services Inc., Regional Steel Corp. and RPS Cable Corp., all based in Clarement, Calif. RPS is a fabricator and installer of concrete reinforcing steel, post-tensioning cable and related products for commercial and public construction projects with facilities in Fontana and Tracy, Calif., and Las Vegas, Nev., and annual capacity of approximately 150,000 tons. 

Independence Tube Expanding Facility
Independence Tube Corp., one of North America’s leading structural tube producers, will expand its manufacturing facility in Marseilles, Ill.

The greenfield, 170,000-square-foot expansion will include a new manufacturing mill capable of producing HSS tubing from 1.66 inches to 5 inches OD.  The expansion will give Independence Tube the full-size range on pipe size tubing though 12-3/4-inch OD and complement its 2-inch through 12-inch square tube sizes.

Independence Tube currently has operations in Decatur, Ala., Chicago and Marseilles.

Latrobe, Union Settle Dispute
Latrobe Specialty Steel and the United Steelworkers have ended a 12-week work stoppage with the signing of a new five-year collective bargaining agreement. The action began as a strike on May 1, then the workers were locked out on May 9.

“I know that I speak for every Latrobe Specialty Steel employee when I say that we appreciate the return of our hourly colleagues. We have reached an agreement that enhances our competitive position. This agreement ensures five years of labor stability,” says Hans Sack, president and CEO of Latrobe Specialty Steel.

The company was able to serve its customers without interruption during the labor dispute, Sack says.

FMA Processing Workshop
Offers Real-World Solutions
The Fabricators & Manufacturers Association International will offer a two-day coil processing workshop and exhibition Sept. 16-17 at the Doubletree Hotel in Alsip, Ill., near Chicago. The program will be geared toward shop owners and managers, production and setup supervisors, process engineers, quality control professionals, and anyone seeking to improve coil processing line productivity and management.

Twelve educational sessions will be presented by industry leaders on technology and best practices. Topics will include: light- and heavy-gauge slitting, the science of leveling, best practices and slitting techniques, value-added cut-to-length, motion controls for cut-to-length, and processing pre-painted metals.

The program will also include case studies on workplace safety and maximizing scrap value. Attendees are urged to bring their specific challenges to the “Ask the Speakers” sessions and receive real-world solutions they can take back and implement.

Also included with the registration fee is a tour of Metal Processing Corp. in Gary, Ind. A networking reception at the Doubletree Alsip will follow the plant tour.

For more information or to register, visit www.fmanet.org or call 888-394-4362. 

Briefs
Indalex Inc. and the United Autoworkers Local 151 representing employees at the company’s Connersville, Ind., manufacturing plant have completed a new collective bargaining agreement. The three-year agreement includes wage and benefit adjustments for the plant’s 50 unionized workers. Indalex will hire 15 new employees for the Connersville facility this summer as the company continues to prepare for the introduction of a new 6000-ton UBE extrusion press, the centerpiece of the automated extrusion system being installed at the plant. 

Northwest Pipe Co., Portland, Ore., has received its largest single order for its energy products, a $10.6 million order from a Houston-based distributor serving the oil and gas industry. Approximately two-thirds of the order will be put into use as gas gathering pipe in domestic gas fields. The final third will be exported to Ghana, where it will be used in a tank storage farm.

Cox Distributing Inc., Cokeville, W.Va., has acquired 100 percent of Armco & Metawise Ltd., a privately held company based in Hong Kong and China. Armco imports, sells and distributes ores and non-ferrous metal and is planning to expand its operations into the scrap metal recycling business. After closing on the acquisition of Armco, Cox Distributing changed its name to China Armco Metals Inc.

Alcoa, Pittsburgh, has reached an agreement with Chelan PUD on a new hydropower contract to supply its Wenatchee, Wash., aluminum smelter through 2028. The new contract, which begins in 2011, will provide enough energy to enable the start-up of a third potline at the smelter in 2012.

Alcoa has restructured its Honduran and Mexican electrical and electronic systems businesses to reflect weak demand in the North America light truck and SUV market. Upcoming actions include the closure of its electrical distribution facility in El Progreso, Honduras, the layoff of approximately 40 workers at the Choloma wire manufacturing facility in Honduras, and approximately 500 AEES associates throughout its Mexico locations in Acuna, Ciudad Juarez, Piedras Negras,and Torreon. The workforce reduction will impact approximately 1,240.

Peddinghaus has opened a new 45,000-square-foot production facility in Bradley, Ill. The company is offering tours of the facility from Sept. 24-27 during its Oktoberfest event. Contact Nick Hajewski at 815-937-3800 Ext. 206 or e-mail NickHajewski@peddinghaus.com for more information.

Plymouth Tube, Warrenville, Ill., has received AS9100 Rev. B registration to complement its existing ISO 9001:2000 certification. Plymouth Tube’s Salisbury mill is a manufacturer of precision tubing for aerospace, high purity, pharmaceutical, medical and nuclear applications.  

Aleris Light Gauge Products, a business unit of Aleris International Inc., Beachwood, Ohio, will permanently close its aluminum rolling mill located in Cap de la Madeleine, Quebec, following a shutdown of all remaining activities at the facility. All new production has already ceased. Aleris cited permanent and irreparable damage suffered by the operations as a result of ongoing labor issues for the decision.

Carpenter Technology Corp., Wyomissing, Pa., has completed the sale of its Rathbone Precision Metals business to Treci S.r.l., controlling company of Calvi Holdings, S.r.l., for $17.5 million. Rathbone designs, manufactures and sells precision-formed shaped components in a variety of alloys in the United States and other countries.

Kaiser Aluminum has announced an applicable energy surcharge of $.048 per pound for 6xxx alloys and $.066 for all other alloys for August shipments of fabricated products. The surcharges are based on a calculation tied to indices provided by the U.S. Department of Energy and are updated on a monthly basis. 

ArcelorMittal, Luxembourg, has adjusted its prices for flat carbon products in Europe for new bookings with delivery scheduled for September 2008. The new base price level for hot-rolled coil will be $1,200 per ton. Cold-rolled and coated flat product prices will be adjusted accordingly.

The London Metal Exchange has begun spot or cash trading, marking the end of the launch period for both the Mediterranean and Far East LME steel billet futures contracts. Steel billet futures can now be traded every business day out to three months, then weekly through six months, and every third Wednesday of the month from months 7-15.

Rio Tinto Alcan has awarded a contract to Bechtel, worth approximately $200 million, to conduct the complete engineering, procurement and construction management of the planned $2.5 billion Kitimat modernization project in British Columbia, Canada. The project would increase production capacity at the smelter by 40 percent, taking it up to 400,000 tons per year.

The Bradbury Co., Moundridge, Kansas, has doubled the size of its dedicated trim shop plant to 40,500 square feet. Along with the expansion, Bradbury has added a new 13-foot folder to its extensive product line in response to customer inquiries and requests for a shorter-length hydraulic folder.   

Morton Manufacturing Co., Libertyville, Ill., has acquired the assets of YSD, which manufactures railroad running boards, end platforms and brake steps, in addition to industrial safety grating products under the original Apex design.

Anglesey Aluminium Metal Ltd. is restarting production on the non-operating portion of the first of two potlines at its smelter. Anglesey is 49 percent owned by Kaiser Aluminum, Foothill Ranch, Calif.

People
Melinda C. Ellsworth has been appointed vice president and treasurer at Kaiser Aluminum. Ellsworth most recently served as vice president, treasurer and investor relations for HNI Corp. She replaces Dan Rinkenberger, who was appointed senior vice president and chief financial officer earlier in the year. 

Nucor Corp. chairman, president and CEO Daniel R. DiMicco has been appointed to the United States Manufacturing Council by U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez. The council was established to ensure regular communication between the federal government and manufacturing sector and works directly with the Commerce Department to advocate, coordinate and implement policies that seek to strengthen U.S. manufacturers’ competitiveness worldwide. 

Century Aluminum Co., Monterey, Calif., has named Catherine Z. Manning to the company’s board of directors. She retired as a partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers in June.

Andy Lewis has been appointed to the newly created position of vice president-international for Eriez Magnetics. He had been serving as managing director of Eriez-Europe, a position that will be filled by Paul Fears.

David Pirkle has been named president of industrial products and services for LENOX, East Longmeadow, Mass. Pirkle had been president of the Amerock business.