In a statement, Liberty Steel said Revansidha “Rohit” Gulve joins the operation from the former Gerdau wire rod mill in Beaumont, Texas. In addition to general manager, he’ll serve as a non-executive vice president. 

“I’m really excited about this project because it is one of those great challenges. Any time you restart a mill like that after three years down, it is a memory for life,” Gulve said.  

“My objective is to make the plant profitable in both good markets and bad and to have the best people working in the safest environment. I am very eager to understand and improve the cost structure, so it becomes a sustainable business for the long term.”

Gulve has an engineering degree from the University of Pune in India and a master’s degree in material science and engineering from Florida International University.

He began his steel career at North American Stainless at Ghent, Ky., in 2006 and later moved to Gerdau’s Beaumont plant, which was sold to an entity called Optimus Steel LLC earlier this month. 

Liberty Steel USA chief executive Michael Setterdahl said Gulve will be a great addition to the management team. 

“With his extensive hands-on experience in both meltshop and wire rod rolling, we are very happy to have secured his services and are looking forward to working with him as we build our business in Georgetown and across America,” he said.

Liberty Steel acquired the former ArcelorMittal plant at the end of 2017 and is moving toward a restart of melting, casting and rolling operations. The company said it has more than 100 people working on-site. 

ArcelorMittal closed the plant in 2015.