North Star BlueScope on Track for Expansion

Australian steel producer BlueScope has upgraded the expansion plans for its U.S. segment, now planning to add 900,000 to 1.0 million tons of capacity at North Star BlueScope at an investment cost of $600-$700 million. The Ohio steel facility will receive a third electric arc furnace with a melt capacity of about 1.5 million tons as well as a second caster. BlueScope has committed $50 million to a design and engineering study with a final decision on the project expected during the second half of 2019. Construction will take two to three years to complete followed by a two-year ramp-up.

“What we are seeing at this stage is encouraging,” said CEO Mark Vassella during the company’s earnings conference call. The company is still working to secure some large capital items and environmental approvals, but unless there is some “fairly significant event,” the project is expected to move forward.