U.S. Steel Canada entered into an agreement to sell the No. 1 Bar Mill and the No. 3 Bloom and Billet Mill at its Hamilton Works to Max Aicher (North America) Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Max Aicher GmbH & Co. of Germany. The mills have been inactive since January 2009. The balance of the operations at U.S. Steel Canada’s Hamilton Works will not be affected by the sale. The transaction allows the company to put continued emphasis and focus on its core operations, strengthening its position as a leading producer of value-added flat-roll products.

Terms of the transaction were not released. When the mills were closed last year, they employed approximately 300 people. Max Aicher would need to hire that many workers when production starts back up. This will be the German company’s first foray into North America. Max Aicher has more than 20% of the European market for automotive steel.