Highbar LLC, a newly formed company focused on sustainable scrap metal recycling and steel production, announced today that it has selected a greenfield site in northeast Arkansas to build the first of its two rebar steel mini mills.
In a press release, the company said the mills are designed to be world leaders in terms of energy and water efficiency, labor productivity, and carbon emission reductions.
The Highbar mill in northeast Arkansas will sit on over six hundred acres of property just outside of the town of Osceola. The project will include space for an expanded Mississippi River port facility, a direct Class 1 railroad connection, and a planned adjacent solar installation. Groundbreaking is scheduled to take place in the second quarter of 2023 once final permits are in place and equipment deliveries begin.
Highbar plans to invest approximately $500 million and create 200 direct and indirect jobs, with the direct jobs paying $140,000 a year on average plus benefits and the indirect jobs paying $60,000 a year on average plus benefits. During the planned 22-month construction period, peak construction employment is expected to exceed 600 jobs.
The technology for the Highbar mill will be provided by SMS group, a leading supplier to the world's steel making community.
"My team and I have had great success investing billions of dollars in northeast Arkansas over the past eight years. I am pleased that after conducting a multi-state site search that we are able to make this announcement today," said Dave Stickler, chief executive officer of Highbar and senior managing partner of Global Principal Partners, a leading metals and mining investment and project development firm. "Arkansas is a great place to conduct business, especially steel business," Stickler stated.