Kentucky Electric Steel Announces $6 Million Capital Improvement Project
05/23/2013 - Kentucky Electric Steel's parent company Optima Specialty Steel has committed US$6 million in capital to provide KES with the ability to produce high-quality round bars with diameters up to 3.75 inches.
KES Acquisition Company d/b/a Kentucky Electric Steel, a value-added manufacturer of special bar quality (SBQ) and merchant bar quality (MBQ) steel bar products and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Optima Specialty Steel, Inc. (OSS), announced that OSS has committed US$6 million in capital to provide KES with the ability to produce high-quality round bars with diameters up to 3.75 inches. This significant investment is the first made by OSS since finalizing its acquisition of KES in February of this year.
As part of the rolling mill enhancement, KES will integrate new mill DC drives and advanced controls, guides, and rolls into the existing infrastructure at the company’s facility. In addition, KES will incorporate a ProScan profile measurement system and the appropriate ancillary mill handling equipment required to support the expanded operations and product line. Prior to this announced project, KES was only capable of producing flat and rectangular bars.
“This capital improvement project will not only enable us to diversify the existing high-quality flat bar offerings, it will also support enhanced quality control of our existing steel bar products and further increase the mill’s overall productivity,” said John Scheel, vice president and general manager of KES. “Our customers have long associated industry leading quality and service with our customizable flat and rectangular steel products, and we are excited to offer round bars with the same standard of excellence.”
Mordechai “Motti” Korf, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of OSS, stated, “This capital project reiterates Optima’s continued dedication to infusing KES with the resources necessary to successfully build upon its established track record of providing superior products that meet the rigorous demands of its customers. We look forward to helping KES further cement itself as a leading player in the specialty steel market.”
Capital commitments such as this project play a vital role in further establishing KES and the larger family of OSS subsidiaries as a leading player in the specialty steel market. KES has already begun engineering the structural enhancements, and anticipates that the rolling mill will be fully upgraded and capable of producing round bars in September of this year.
Founded in 1964 and headquartered in Ashland, Ky., KES Acquisition Company d/b/a Kentucky Electric Steel is a value-added manufacturer of SBQ and MBQ flat steel products. KES utilizes a variety of customized equipment and modification processes to provide its clients with a wide array of products that can be tailored to their exact size, chemistry and tolerance specifications required. KES currently manufactures over 2,600 different SBQ and MBQ items, which are sold to the leaf-spring suspension market for light and heavy-duty trucks, mini-vans and utility vehicles, cold drawn bar converters, certain specialty applications for steel service centers, truck trailer manufacturers and other miscellaneous markets. KES is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Miami-based Optima Specialty Steel, Inc.
