Feb. 8, 2006 — Steel Dynamics, Inc. announced plans to invest approximately $40 million in plant and equipment in order to produce pre-painted steel, acrylic-coated steel, and 55% aluminum-zinc alloy coated steel at its Jeffersonville, Ind., facility.

Central to the expansion is the addition of a state-of-the-art continuous coil coating paint line. The paint line will have an expected annual capacity of 190,000 tons. The Jeffersonville paint line will utilize a design similar to the company's existing line at its Butler, Ind., cold mill complex, which has been operating at capacity for two years. Construction of the new line is expected to begin in April 2006, with operations commencing in the second quarter of 2007.

"We are very pleased with the success of our pre-painted steel business," said Mark Millett, Vice President and General Manager of the Flat Rolled Division. "Customers continue to reward us with recurring business as a result of the quality of our products and the shorter order cycle time relative to competitor supply chains. Our pre-painted customers also benefit from reduced logistical, administrative, and inventory carrying costs as a result of our simplification of a generally fragmented supply chain. We are the only steel mill in North America to directly offer painted steels."

The project will also include the addition of a second zinc pot to the existing light gauge galvanizing line, which will enable the company to produce steel coated with an aluminum-zinc alloy. The line has the ability to coat flat-rolled steel in widths up to 60 inches, creating a unique product niche in North America for aluminum-zinc coated products above 52 inches wide. The combination of aluminum and zinc greatly enhances corrosion performance and solar reflectivity, making it the material of choice for premium metal roofing.

The existing galvanizing line will also be modified to facilitate in-line application of acrylic coatings. Acrylic coatings provide a number of value-added benefits, including outstanding corrosion protection, fingerprint resistance, and enhanced lubricity for rollforming and stamping. This same capability was recently installed on the company's hot-rolled galvanizing line in Butler, Ind.

Steel Dynamics purchased the Jeffersonville galvanizing plant in March 2003 for approximately $19 million. The facility specializes in galvanizing light-gauge steel and currently has an annual estimated coating capacity of 240,000 tons.