This week, Tamco Steel, California’s sole mini-mill and
rebar producer, will resume on a limited basis its
rebar rolling operations that have been suspended since December. The company says it will also restart its melt shop in the near future.
Tamco, which has experienced a drop in sales of 60 percent as
construction projects have drastically slowed down, has been able to weather the economic crisis by selling its inventory, but now it is ready to resume
production with hopes that the federal and state infrastructure programs will reactivate the
construction business. California will receive close to $2.5 billion from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for road and highway infrastructure projects.
Last week, Ameron International, Tamco’s parent company, reported Tamco’s net loss of $5.2 million in the quarter ended March 1, 2009, which sharply contrasts Tamco’s $6.1 million net profits during the same period of the previous year.