Zekelman to Expand Atlas Tube with New ERW Mill in Arkansas

The $150 million mill project represents the largest private investment in the U.S. steel industry in the last decade, Zekelman said, enabling new domestic manufacturing capabilities. The facility will be capable of producing hollow structural sections (HSS) in square, rectangular and round shapes and in sizes ranging from 8″ square x 0.750″ wall to 22″ square x 1″ wall. While Atlas Tube has supplied Jumbo HSS (up to 22″ square x 0.875″ wall) since 2012, the new mill allows the full range of these products to be made in the USA for the first time, and with a larger maximum wall thickness than previously available. The largest rectangular section produced in Blytheville will be 30″ x 14″ x 1″ wall, and the largest round section will be 28″ OD x 1″ wall.

Atlas Tube products provide structural support for buildings such as airports, stadiums, mega warehouses and large distribution centers, as well as infrastructure applications such as bridges and oil and gas pipelines. The Blytheville mill will produce HSS and pipe piling to meet or exceed ASTM A500, ASTM A1085, CSA G40 and ASTM A252 standards.

“We greatly appreciate the support we’ve received from the Arkansas Economic Development Commission over the years,” said Tom Muth, president of Atlas Tube. “The AEDC has worked closely with us to ensure immense success for the Blytheville community, and we’re proud to be a part of it.”

The company projects an additional 75 new employees will be hired to work in the mill, growing its Blytheville workforce to approximately 150 employees. The new Blytheville mill will be Atlas Tube’s sixth mill in North America and its fifth in the United States, all of which also produce HSS.