According to news reports, Gerdau Macsteel’s Monroe, Michigan steel mill has received $2.4 million in state funding for a major expansion project.
The grant from the Michigan Strategic Fund will help fund the $70.3 million expansion, which will include a new EAF transformer, mechanical upgrades in the EAF, and a new twin ladle furnace and material handling system.
“This project will upgrade our EAF and secondary refining technology and will be the final step to elevate the technological capability at Monroe to world class,” said Mark Marcucci, president of Gerdau Special Steel North America in a news release. “In addition, we will substantially improve our hot metal capacity, which will now fully optimize our previous investments.”
The work is expected to be completed in December 2020.
Along with $155.6 million in upgrades unveiled in 2015, the culmination of the investments will increase the mill’s shipping capacity to 720,000 tons, an increase of 180,000 tons from its current capacity.