Gerdau Ameristeel has begun the planning process for a capital project to expand its Jacksonville Steel Mill in Baldwin, Fla. The expansion is expected to add approximately 400,000 tons of annual capacity to the company’s Jacksonville rolling mill. The expansion will match the capacity of the rolling mill to the facility’s melt shop, which was recently expanded to a melting capacity of more than 1 million tons per year.

Gerdau Ameristeel said that an engineering team is well into the planning process for the expansion, which is expected to be completed by 2010. The Jacksonville mill’s primary products will continue to be rebar and wire rod.