In response to increased demand from the U.S. steel industry, HarbisonWalker International (HWI) – a supplier of refractory products – is making an investment to substantially increase production of its steelmaking products. HWI will build a manufacturing and service hub for steel customers in the United States. The Pittsburgh, Pa.-based company is assessing strategic site options, and construction is scheduled to begin immediately once the location is determined. The new facility is expected to open as early as the third quarter of 2022.

The new technologically advanced plant will support both HWI’s and steelmakers’ sustainability goals by producing refractories expressly designed for use in low-emission electric-arc furnaces (EAFs). It will produce magnesia-carbon brick for servicing steel ladles using core raw materials that can be sized accordingly for a full range of steelmaking refractory needs. Production will initially add to HWI’s capacity in 2022, and that capacity may further increase by 2023. The plant will include a high degree of robotics automation and technology, and it will utilize lean techniques throughout its operations to maximize material flow efficiency and production.

Since 2018, HWI has completed numerous capital investments at its manufacturing facilities in Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Georgia and Ontario. In addition, the company opened a new plant in South Point, Ohio, in 2018 to produce monolithic products used by steelmakers.