Speaking during the company’s second-quarter earnings call on Tuesday, SDI chief executive Mark Millett said the Sinton, Texas, start-up team won’t begin melting scrap until the middle of the fourth quarter. 

Nevertheless, Millett told analysts on the call that the company is moving toward project completion and has begun hot commissioning of the mill’s facility’s 250,000-ton paint line. Its 550,000-ton galvanizing line is to start next month. 

Additionally, Millett said five customers have committed to setting up operations on-site, representing more than 1.5 million tons of potential annual consumption. 

“Based on our location, with much shorter lead times, we can provide a superior customer supply chain solution. It also allows us to effectively compete with imports coming into Houston and the West Coast, which inherently have long lead times and speculative price risk.”

On the raw materials side, SDI acquired three smaller scrap yards in the Houston and Corpus Christi areas in the last quarter to feed the mill, Millett added. 

Also during the call, Millett spoke about the Biden administration’s Section 232 discussions with the European Union, saying that

SDI believes the final resolution will involve some type of import surge mechanism to continue to protect national security. 

“Aside from Turkey, Europe has never been a significant import source and we have long thought collaborating with them against China and other Asian export-based economies that are the greatest contributors to global overcapacity is the most effective path to fair trade,” he said.