Olympic Steel, Inc., (Nasdaq:ZEUS), a national steel service center, today announced that it has signed agreements to purchase a new temper mill and cut-to-length line, and plans to locate it on U.S. Steel's Gary Works facility in Gary, Indiana. Terms of the agreement with U.S. Steel are being finalized and are subject to change.
The Company expects to invest approximately $25 million in the new temper mill project. The project includes the purchase of an existing approximate 150,000 square foot facility to house a Butech cut-to-length line, a four-high temper mill supplied by I2S, LLC, and multiple pieces of plate burning equipment. The temper mill equipment is expected to be operational in the first half of 2012, and Olympic has an option with the equipment manufacturers to purchase a second temper mill and cut-to-length line.
Commenting on the project, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Michael D. Siegal stated, "We are thrilled to announce this strategic growth initiative and its prime location on the U.S. Steel Gary Works site. Once fully operational, the new equipment, depending on the steel processed, annually adds 150,000 to 180,000 new tons of high quality tempered sheet capacity for Olympic Steel. We look forward to operating a third temper mill facility to serve our customers in the Chicago market, allowing our existing Cleveland and Iowa temper mills to expand their respective sales territories. This new operation fits directly into our strategic plan of adding new footprints to serve and be logistically closer to our customers. We are especially proud to further our physical market presence with plans to operate in the state of Indiana, as well as our recently announced purchase of a facility in Kentucky."
Source: http://www.olysteel.com/