Zekelman Industries announced today the construction of a new continuous ERW tube mill. The mill will be capable of producing hollow structural sections (HSS) with a size range of 8" square x 0.750" wall up to 22" square x 1" wall. Atlas Tube, a division of Zekelman Industries, will produce square, rectangular and round structural sections in the mill. The largest rectangular section will be 34" x 10" x 1" wall, and the largest round section will be 28" OD x 1" wall. The new mill will produce products to meet or exceed ASTM A500, ASTM A1085, CSA G40 and ASTM A252. This will be the first time ERW sections above 16" square will be available domestically.
The total project investment is over $150 million, with a start-up scheduled for September 2021. The mill will also be engineered to allow for special forming and sizing technology for precise dimensional tolerance. Zekelman Industries has selected SMS as the supplier for the mill, Kusakabe for the milling cut-off, and Mair for the material handling and packaging line.
"Over the past few years, we have seen the increasing need for larger, domestically produced HSS in the bridge, transportation and building markets," said Tom Muth, president of Atlas Tube. "Also, HSS with thicker walls that meet the more stringent width-to-thickness ratio requirements of the AISC Seismic Provisions are in greater demand for lateral bracing systems."