In a statement, Commercial Metals said the mill will produce rebar and merchant bar products, making it the first mill to produce merchant bar in a continuous process. 

“We are excited by the tremendous promise of CMC’s third micro-mill. This is a smart growth initiative that feeds the large underlying West Coast demand for rebar and merchant bar, replacing inefficient existing rebar capacity with environmentally friendly technology,” said Commercial Metals Company chairman and chief executive Barbara Smith. 

“By monetizing the significant value associated with our Southern California real estate, this lowers the project’s capital requirements and increases its returns. Offering bottom-line growth and significant environmental benefits, this project is a win for our customers, employees, the local community and shareholders.”

The mill will have a nominal capacity of 500,000 tons annually. Of that capacity, 150,000 tons of capacity will be geared to merchant products. Commissioning is to take place in early 2023. The mill will be built around Danieli technology, said Tracy Porter, Commercial Metal’s executive vice president and chief operating officer.

“Representing another first in North America, this new micro-mill, which we are calling Triple M, will employ the latest technology in EAF power supply systems provided by Danieli,” Porter said.  

“Among the many advantages, we selected Danieli’s Q-One technology because it allows us to directly connect the electric arc furnace and ladle furnace to renewable energy sources such as solar and wind, and we intend to construct a solar array on our plant site to provide a meaningful portion of the facility’s power. With this new advanced technology, coupled with the continuous steelmaking process, we will be one of the most efficient steel producers in the world.”

Q-One is Danieli patented EAF and LF power management solution.  

“It handles irregular power loads with high flexibility and reliability thanks to the control capabilities provided by power semiconductor devices. Q-One is natively ready to be powered by energy coming from renewable sources generated at the site,” Danieli said in a statement. 

Danieli said the plant will consist of a 60-ton, side-charge EAF and a ladle treatment furnace; a single-strand, high-speed continuous caster; and a rolling mill comprised of 20 housingless stands.

Porter said the mill will serve as a replacement to its Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., mill, which will be shut down and sold. The company last year closed the plant's meltshop.  

“At the mill level, we are effectively swapping an older, less efficient asset for a world-class, state-of-the-art micro-mill that will be able to access plentiful, low-cost local scrap.”