Mumbai: Sajjan Jindal-promoted JSW Steel Ltd has announced plans to make an initial investment of $250 million (about Rs1,700 crore) to upgrade a steel manufacturing plant in Ohio, US. It acquired the plant as part of its recent $80-million acquisition of Acero Junction Inc., an Ohio-based integrated steel manufacturer. The investment might be scaled up by another $250 million later, depending on the prevailing market situation, the company said.
The investment in the Ohio steel plant will happen in two parts: in phase one, JSW Steel will revamp and restart the electric arc furnace and the slab caster, and modernise the hot strip mill, said the steelmaker in a statement on Friday. The proposed investment including the cost of acquisition, is expected to be about $250 million.
In phase two, “depending upon the economic viability and prevailing market conditions”, JSW Steel will evaluate the possibility of adding another electric arc furnace as well as additional manufacturing equipment at the hot strip mill to make the Ohio facility a fully integrated unit making three million tonnes of steel per annum. “The proposed investment in phase two could be in the range of up to $250 million, subject to feasibility studies and necessary approvals,” the statement said.
JSW Steel has also proposed a separate $500 million investment to expand its operations in Texas. JSW Steel (USA) Inc. operates a steel plate and pipe mill at Baytown, Texas, approximately 30 miles outside Houston. This unit services the local energy, petrochemicals, defence and heavy equipment industries, said the company in the statement.
The announcements come at a time when the global steel industry is grappling with import tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. Regardless, JSW Steel is expanding operations both in India and abroad. The company recently signed a deal to take over Italy’s second largest steel plant Aferpi for Rs 600 crore. Back home, the company is in the last stages of acquiring its bankrupt competitor Monnet Ispat for Rs 2,750 crore. This acquisition is through a consortium led by private equity player AION Capital.
JSW Steel currently has a manufacturing capacity of 18 mtpa. Through acquisitions and a series of capacity expansions at its existing facilities, the company has, in the past, stated its ambition to hit 45 mtpa by 2020.