Steel Mills

Hybar expansion still on the table as Arkansas mill startup nears

Written by Stephanie Ritenbaugh

March 27, 2025

As Hybar nears completion of its $700-million rebar mill in northeast Arkansas, the new longs producer and scrap recycler said it is still “actively considering” building other steel facilities in the southern US.

The 700,000-short-ton-per-year facility in Osceola, Ark., is on schedule for commissioning in late May/early June, the company told SMU. It will be adjacent to Hybar’s 105-megawatt behind-the-meter solar facility and a 200-acre river port facility.

“Given the project’s success, Hybar is actively considering building other steel production facilities,” CEO David Stickler said in an email to SMU. “One of the sites under consideration is in northeast Arkansas along with other sites in several southern states.”

At last year’s SMU Steel Summit, Stickler named South Carolina, Georgia, Idaho, and Washington as potential sites for its next mill.

The company declined to provide further details at this time.

Northeast Arkansas is already home to several steel operations along the Mississippi River, including U.S. Steel’s Big River, Nucor Steel Arkansas, Nucor Skyline Armorel, and Nucor-Yamato Steel. Nearby in Tennessee is Nucor Steel Memphis.

In May, Stickler told SMU that Hybar’s plans had grown since it announced in 2022 it would build two rebar mills. Stickler said the goal is to construct three or four bar mills and potentially a flat-rolled steel mill.

Stephanie Ritenbaugh

Stephanie Ritenbaugh is a reporter for Steel Market Update. She is an experienced business journalist, holding a variety of positions for trade publications and newspapers, including covering shale development for Gas Business Briefing/Platts and for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. She can be reached at stephanie.ritenbaugh@crugroup.com or +1 724-759-7868

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