Steel Mills

Atlas Tube Opens Second Blytheville Tube Mill

Written by Laura Miller

May 10, 2022

Zekelman Industries’ Atlas Tube subsidiary has officially opened its second tube mill in Blytheville, Ark.

The new 515,000-square-foot facility – which came at an investment of $150 million – is the largest continuous electric resistance welding (ERW) mill in the world, the company said.

The new plant can produce jumbo hollow structural sections (HSS) from 8-inch to 22-inch square, rounds up to 28-inch OD, and rectangles up to 34 by 10 inches, with wall thicknesses up to 1 inch. Previously, the largest HSS rolled in the US was 16 by 16 by 5/8 inches with anything larger needing to be imported.

The mill is located adjacent to Atlas’ other tube facility and is close to several competitors as well as potential suppliers Nucor Steel Arkansas and U. S. Steel’s Big River Steel.

By Laura Miller, Laura@SteelMarketUpdate.com

Laura Miller

Laura Miller is a reporter and editor for Steel Market Update. She has held a variety of positions within the steel industry since 2007, including reporting and editing for Steel Business Briefing/Platts, the Association for Iron and Steel Technology, and Kallanish Commodities, as well as marketing for what was then known as ThyssenKrupp Steel USA (now AM/NS Calvert). After a five-year hiatus working across other industries, she returned to steel in 2021 and has covered the flat rolled, tubular, and trade areas of the industry. She is a member of the Association of Women in the Metal Industries and a past-president of the AWMI Pittsburgh Chapter. She holds a BA in Latin American Studies from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. She can be reached at laura@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7869.

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