Steel Products Prices North America

Zekelman Expands in Arkansas with New Tube Galvanizing Facility

Written by Laura Miller

September 20, 2022

Zekelman Industries is set to build a new steel tube galvanizing facility in Blytheville, Ark. The new, 200,000-tons-per-year Wheatland Tube facility will share a campus with Zekelman’s existing Atlas Tube operations there.

The new facility will serve the fence, solar, and mechanical markets, producing tubes using Wheatland’s ThunderCoat™ inline galvanized coating.

Construction is slated to begin in December and commissioning is scheduled for late 2023.

“Beyond expanding our current capacity, this new factory enables our Wheatland Tube brand to bring new products and services to the market,” commented Barry Zekelman, chairman and CEO of Zekelman Industries.

“Our goal is to lead the industry with continued investments in our factories, teammates, and communities. Together, these investments improve on the leading service levels our customers already experience and the flexibility that will benefit high-growth industries such as utility-scale solar,” Zekelman added.

This latest investment is Zekelman’s third major investment in Arkansas, as the company commissioned a jumbo HSS mill there earlier this year.

Earlier this month, Zekelman announced operations at its new, 300,000-tons-per-year tube galvanizing facility outside Chicago will begin in January 2023.

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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