GFG Alliance Invests in Capacity Expansion at Bartonville EAF Mill Facility
The investments are aimed at doubling the plant’s capacity within two years.
SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The U.K.-based GFG Alliance announced plans to make significant expansion at its EAF mill facility in Bartonville, Illinois, which it purchased recently from Keystone Consolidated Industries Inc. The investments are aimed at doubling the plant’s capacity within two years.
Sanjeev Gupta, Chairman, GFG Alliance, who visited the plant Wednesday, announced that the plant’s capacity will be doubled by 2021 by making major investments to upgrade its machinery and energy facilities. In addition, the facility name will be changed from Keystone Steel to Liberty Steel, Gupta added.
The expansion is expected to create additional jobs in the region. It must be noted that the facility currently employs around 950 people. Despite operating at levels much lower than full capacity, the mill has been making good profits. The proposed expansion is expected to lift the plant’s operations to full capacity. Furthermore, it may result in addition of more shifts at the facility, said Gupta. The potential future investments include setting up of a natural gas power plant at the Bartonville site, which in turn would deliver significant cuts in energy costs and production boost to the plant’s EAF. Gupta added.
The expansion of Bartonville EAF facility with more than 100 years of history in steel products such as wire fencing materials is in line with the GFG Alliance’s earlier set goal to lift its annual U.S. steel mill capacity to 5 million tonnes.