Speaking during the company’s fiscal second-quarter earnings call, Smith said CMC plans to cold commission both the meltshop and the rolling mill before entering hot commissioning. It expects to enter commercial production in the fourth fiscal quarter. 

“Once (Arizona 2) is fully operational, CMC will have one of the most advanced steelmaking complexes anywhere in the world. Not only will we achieve another industry first by producing merchant bar on a micro-mill, but we will also have co-located two of our micro-mills in a unique configuration,” Smith said. 

The mill is adjacent to CMC’s original micro-mill in Mesa, Ariz., USA. 

“We expect this arrangement of the two steel plants will provide meaningful operational efficiencies, including shared staff support, production optimization, improved production scheduling and shared site infrastructure.”

Meanwhile, CMC is progressing on its West Virginia rebar mill, and plans remain on track, Smith said. She said the company has applied for its air permit and expects to receive it sometime in the coming months. 

“This timeline for permit approval has been made possible due to the support and cooperation of West Virginia's regulatory authorities. Once approval is received, we will move forward with site preparation later this year.”

For the quarter ending 28 February, CMC posted net earnings of US$179.8 million, or US$1.51 per diluted share, on net sales of US$2 billion. In the same quarter last year, the company reported net earnings of US$383.3 million, or US$3.12 per diluted share, on net sales of US$2 billion. 

Smith said its quarterly earnings are among the strongest in its 108-year history and they come as the steelmaker enters what is looking to be a strong construction season. 

That forecast is based in part on the value in CMC’s downstream backlog, which ended the second quarter at a record level for this time of year, Smith said. 

“Volume in our backlog also increased on a year-over-year basis. Conversations with customers indicate that other fabricators are similarly situated with healthy backlogs they expect to ship over the coming construction season,” she said. 

“CMC’s downstream bidding activity, which provides our best view of developments within the future project pipeline also remains robust, increasing more than 30% on a year-over-year basis during the quarter. Projects in the pipeline continue to represent a healthy blend of both private and public work. And activity is good across our geographies.”