California Steel Industries, Inc. will invest more than $100 million on instillation of a new pipe mill at the company's site near Fontana, California, with estimates of creating 100 jobs.
The mill, which currently provides 1,000 jobs in the San Bernardino County region, will produce high-strength electrical resistance welded pipe, up to 24 inches in diameter and up to 80 feet in length. The Company's existing pipe mill at 14000 San Bernardino Avenue in Fontana is limited to 16-inch diameter and 60-foot lengths.
Using induction welding technology, the new mill will be capable of increased wall thicknesses and improved yields, the firm said. Annual production capacity is expected to be approximately 400,000 net tons, bringing CSI's total tubular product capacity to over 600,000 tons. The Company also produces hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized sheet products, with a total rolling capacity approaching 3 million tons.
Vicente Wright, President and CEO, who in August becomes CSI's Chairman of the Board, said, "This will be the largest single capital investment in CSI history, and we have invested about a billion dollars since the Company was formed in 1983. This is a testimony to the Company's continued resilience in the tough economic times we are in, and is a tribute to CSI's shareholders and our employees, customers and suppliers."
Installation of the new mill equipment is expected to begin in third quarter 2012 and be concluded by end of 2014. CSI is the leading producer of steel products in the western United States.
While information about incentives offered the firm was not immediately available, the San Bernardino Valley Enterprise Zone provides tax credits for facilities expansion and job creation.
