SDI To Commission Four Value-Add Lines Before End of Q1’24

The new painting and galvanizing lines at SDI Heartland in Terre Haute, Ind., could be up and running by the end of the year, EVP and CFO Theresa Wagler said on the call. If not by year’s end, then early in the first quarter of 2024.

The new Heartland galvanizing line will be able to process 300,000 tons per year of flat-rolled steel and will also have Galvalume coating capabilities. The new paint line will have a capacity of 240,000 tons per year.

The Heartland mill currently has the capacity to produce 1 million tons of cold-rolled steel, with galvanizing capacity of 360,000 tons, according to SDI’s website. SDI purchased the mill in 2018 from CSN for $400 million.

SDI Sinton

Sinton’s new paint and galvanizing lines are now anticipated to be commissioned shortly after the Heartland lines in Q1’24, SDI’s chairman and CEO Mark Millett said on the call.

The $225-million project is adding a 300,000-ton-per-year flat-rolled galvanizing line, also with Galvalume coating capabilities, and a 240,000-ton-per-year paint line.

The startup of the Sinton, Texas, mill has not been without issue. The mill was originally announced in 2019, and construction began early in 2020. At that time, operations were expected to begin by mid-2021. Startup of the hot end was delayed for various reasons, including severe flooding, but occurred early in 2022. This year, the mill had an unplanned outage for the entire month of July due to caster shear equipment issues. The outage resulted in an estimated 90,000 tons of lost production.