Evraz Inc. NA, a subsidiary of Russia-based iron and steel producer Evraz Group, officially announced Thursday the opening of its $90 million large-diameter tubular steel pipe mill expansion in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.
The $90 million expansion project will increase the capacity of the pipe mill, formerly owned and operated by Ipsco, Inc., by roughly 66 percent, to about 500,000 metric tons (mt) per year. Another $23 million was invested in the plant's steel mill to keep up with the increasing demand from the new plant.
Shaw Pipe Protection Ltd also invested $15 million to expand its facilities to handle the increased pipe production from the Regina, Saskatchewan branch.
Greg Maindonald, vice president and general manager of Evraz's Regina branch, told press Thursday, "The economic downturn is hurting the industry elsewhere in North America, but Saskatchewan is the exception."
Evraz purchased Ipsco Inc. from Stockholm-based SSAB for $4 billion earlier this spring. Evraz then sold off its US tubular assets to another company but retained Ipsco Inc.'s Canadian assets for a net purchase of $2.3 billion.