Liberty Steel, also part of GFG Alliance, has announced that the first twenty workers returned to Georgetown steel mill in South Carolina on April 3, after over two years as preparations were stepped up to bring the shuttered plant back to life. On April 16, a further 20 colleagues will join them in carrying out repairs and maintenance on the Liberty Steel Georgetown plant, which is scheduled to reopen soon, following its acquisition by British industrialist Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance in December.
These first groups of workers are all former plant employees returning under a recall agreement with the United Steelworkers which enables them to reclaim their previous employment.
125 jobs will be available at the Georgetown plant initially, while it is expected to rise to 250 as production is ramped up at the mill, which will make various grades of wire rod for the construction and automotive sectors.
Sanjeev Gupta, executive chairman of the GFG Alliance, said, “The GFG Alliance has big ambitions to invest and help to revive the US steel industry, and today is a hugely significant milestone in the process. We’re now eager to press ahead with all the preparatory activity and get production going again at this iconic site.”
Following maintenance, repairs and upgrade of equipment, the company aims to restart production in the second quarter of the year and intends to operate its electric arc furnace at full capacity as soon as feasible.