Steel Mills

Ternium to Spend $98M to Add 2nd Coating Line at Louisiana Mill

Written by Michael Cowden

December 17, 2021

Ternium USA Inc. plans to invest $98 million to increase coating capacity at its steel mill in Shreveport, La.

The money will be used to add a second paint line to the Shreveport facility with capacity of 120,000 tons per year.

Ternium logoConstruction of the new paint line is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2022. And commercial production is slated for mid-2024, according to a press release from the office of Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D).

“This new coil coating expansion in Shreveport is part of our strategy to support the joint growth of our company and that of our loyal customers by adding complementary volume, range, and services to our existing local platform,” Ternium USA President Michael Guhl said.

Ternium USA is the domestic subsidiary of Latin American steelmaker Ternium, which started up a new hot strip mill outside of Monterrey, Mexico, earlier this year.

And company executives have said in recent months that they plan to continue to expand both upstream with increased melting capacity and downstream with more cold rolling and coating capability.

Gov. Edwards said the project would retain 157 jobs and create 35 new direct jobs with an average salary of $69,000 per year plus benefits. Another 98 jobs are expected to be created externally.

“Ternium’s decision to reinvest in its Shreveport plant is a testament to Louisiana’s welcoming business climate, highly skilled workforce, and world-class transportation infrastructure,” Edwards said.

Louisiana also landed the project thanks in part to a competitive incentive package and a $1 million performance-based award, the governor’s office said.

By Michael Cowden, Michael@SteelMarketUpdate.com

Michael Cowden

Michael Cowden is managing editor for Steel Market Update. Cowden has covered the steel industry since 2007. He specializes in flat-rolled steel but has also reported on steel long products, steel pipe and tube, and aluminum. Before joining SMU, Cowden held reporting jobs at Fastmarkets AMM in Chicago, the Associated Press in Pittsburgh, and the Cambodia Daily in Phnom Penh. He has also worked as a copy editor and in marketing at the University of Chicago Press. Cowden has a BA in English from the University of Chicago and an MSJ journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Contact him at michael@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7872.

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