Republic Steel to install new electric arc furnace in Lorain steelmaking facility

LORAIN (Scrap Monster): Republic Steel, North America's leading supplier of special bar quality (SBQ) steel, has announced that contracts have been awarded and construction is underway for the new electric arc furnace and related equipment at its Lorain, Ohio, steelmaking facility.

Republic Steel's new furnace is expected to increase it's liquid steel production by 1.2 million tons annually and will account for Lorain's first significant growth in steelmaking in the 21st century.

The new equipment will supply both Republic's bloom and billet casters allowing for the production of high quality SBQ bar and coil from .295" to 6-1/2" diameter, and 6", 10-1/2", 11-5/8", 12-1/4" and 13-1/2" diameter seamless tube rounds.

The company expects the first heat of steel from the new facility to be tapped during the 2nd Quarter of 2013.

The expansion is designed to meet growing customer demand for the company's high quality SBQ steel, driven by the automotive, capital equipment and energy markets.

The project will bring 449 new jobs and more than $1 billion dollars in annual economic activity to Ohio. The existing 489 jobs at the Lorain facility will be retained.

Republic President and CEO Jaime Vigil said, "The expansion will help us maintain our position as the industry leader in SBQ manufacturing. The additional capacity from the new furnace will allow us more flexibility and efficiency in delivering the highly engineered products our customers require."