Speaking on the sidelines of AISTech 2018, AIST’s annual conference and exposition, Benedetti said equipment orders in the EU and the U.S. have been more or less for revamps of existing facilities rather than for large greenfield facilities. 

Nevertheless, he said the industry has reached the point in the cycle when it is time to invest.

“This is the right moment to prepare for the next (downturn),” he said. “Who is doing it will be among the next survivors. Who is not doing it will die,” he said. 

Among Danieli’s more notable projects in the U.S. are new micro-mills to be built in Missouri and Florida for Nucor Corp. Danieli announced the order for the Missouri mill in January, but Benedetti confirmed that it will build the Florida mill, too.  

Micro-mills are a newer plant design in which melting, casting and rolling is done in a single, uninterrupted step. The mills are scaled to operate in and serve a regional market, reducing shipping charges for both scrap and finished product.

Nucor competitor Commercial Metals Company operates Danieli micro-mills in Oklahoma and Arizona.

“Our next challenge is to make the technology work for some other products,” said Paolo Losso, president of Danieli’s U.S. subsidiary.