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SMS group Wins Contract for US$28 Million Bar Mill Expansion

In a statement, Steel Dynamics said the project will boost the mill's rolling capacity by more than 20%. 

"With the addition of this equipment which allows for multi-strand slitting and rebar finishing, we expect the added product diversification and our existing highly competitive cost structure to allow us to quickly grow market share,” said Joe Crawford, an SDI vice president and general manager of the Roanoke bar division.

“Additionally,” he said, “we will be one of the largest independent rebar suppliers without our own rebar fabricating business, which we believe will be a positive for our new customer base." 

The contract calls for a high-capacity pusher furnace designed to process 140 tons of billets per hour. 

“The plan is to roll the billets into light sections and reinforcing bars from size Nos. 4 to 11, as well as corresponding round bars. The objective of the new reheating furnace is not only to increase productivity but also to significantly improve energy efficiency, with the adoption of a smart combustion management system,” the company said.  

The project will lift the mill’s overall capacity from 500,000 to more than 600,000 tons annually and increase rebar production to more than 200,000 tons annually, the company said. 

Chief executive Mark Millett announced the project in October 2016, saying at the time that it would put excess melting and casting capability at the bar mill to use.