Business & Tech
Severstal Dearborn Manufacturing Upgrades Continue
The company's North American arm announced the start of a hot dip galvanizing line at its Dearborn plant.
In the face of national discussion over Severstal's future direction, the company's North American arm has maintained that their modernization will continue.
Just days after the news was released that would not receive , the company announced this week that they have begun production of galvanized products at their Dearborn plant.
It's one of several upgrades that are part of a billion dollar overhaul meant to secure Severstal's place in the future of steel production. The federal Department of Energy grant would have supported those efforts, but was officially denied Jan. 6.
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Severstal spokeswoman Katya Pruett told the Detroit Free Press on Friday that the company was disappointed to hear about the denial of the grant, but remains committed to serving the autmotive and other industries.
Severstal, she said, will be "reviewing alternative financing options to continue its modernization and expansion programs."
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The Hot Dip Galvanizing Line is capable of producing 500,000 tons of high quality steel–known as exposed hot-dipped galvanized and hot-dipped galvanneal steel. Severstal said in a press release this week that the product is in line with demand for steel in the automotive, appliance and furniture industries.
"This is an exciting time for Severstal North America," CEO Sergei Kuznetsov said in a statement. "The long-awaited lauch of this new state-of-the-art facility strengthens our presence in the automotive industry with highly demanded ... products for internal and external parts of automobiles."
The Hot Dip Galvanizing Line upgrade follows the August start of Severstal Dearborn's Pickle Line Tandem Cold Mill, which improves the quality and surface of produced steel.
According to Severstal, the two updates are "part of a modernization program Severstal is undertaking to expand its finishing capabilities to produce a wide rance of high quality steel products."
That undertaking includes a continued commitment to their Dearborn plant, Severstal Vice President and General Manager Bruce Black told the Dearborn Press and Guide this week.
“We’re going to be here and we’re committed to operations here,” he said.
