During the steelmaker’s quarterly earnings call with analysts, Millett said that a snout on the equipment at its Columbus, Miss., USA, plant failed due to what he called “bad design” and “bad construction.” The snout is a protective shroud that helps maintain sheet temperature and isolates the sheet from the atmosphere prior to entering the zinc pot.  

The problem gave rise to quality issues, which Millett said have since been resolved through a temporary fix. A permanent solution will come in September, when a new snout is due to arrive at the plant. 

That problem, along with a planned outage related to upgrades at its Butler, Ind., facility cost the company US$30 million in lower value-added shipments and expenses. 

Also during the call, Millett revealed that SDI will gain spooled rebar production capabilities through its planned US$75 million expansion of its Columbia City, Ind., rail and structural mill. 

Through the expansion, the company is adding a rebar mill capable of producing 240,000 tons annually. The project is designed to take advantage of excess melting and casting capacity at the plant. 

SDI will join Commercial Metals Company as a domestic producer of spooled rebar – Commercial Metals intends to make the product at its soon-to-open rebar mill in Durant, Okla.