Liberty Steel USA will invest up to $25 million in its liquid steel production facilities at Georgetown, S.C., to substantially boost output and secure the long-term future of the mill, which reopened just over a year ago. The company will install a modern electric-arc furnace (EAF) and extensively improve the infrastructure of the facility’s melt shop to increase wire-rod output to over 400,000 tons a year. Liberty Steel has already increased the versatility of its rolling mill at Georgetown in an effort to serve key markets for wire rod in the southeastern U.S.

Work to install the new EAF and upgrade the melting and casting facilities is expected to take between six and nine months once permits are obtained, during which time Georgetown will roll billets sourced externally, including from its sister plant in Peoria, Ill. In addition to the installation of the EAF, the project will include new electrical systems, improvements to water and natural gas supply and ancillary equipment to support improved melt-shop operations. Danieli has started extensive surveys at the site in preparation for the project, which is expected to include Danieli’s new energy-efficient Q-ONE technology.

Liberty Steel, which is part of Sanjeev Gupta’s global GFG Alliance, acquired the Georgetown mill in a shuttered state from ArcelorMittal in December 2017.