JSW USA broke ground on an advanced and eco-friendly electric arc furnace, slab caster, and plate mill. It is the only melt and manufacture plate mill with a contiguous pipe mill in North America.
JSW Steel USA is embarking on a journey to hire 1,000 new workers and invest up to $1 billion to modernize and expand its U.S. operations.
The project was initially unveiled in March of this year before an audience of more than 200 that included Texas Congressman Brian Babin, representatives from U.S. Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn’s offices, local economic development officials and employees.
“The Groundbreaking that occurred today at JSW USA’s Baytown, Texas, facility is the culmination of over three years of hard work with engineers from JSW and international engineering teams from the finest suppliers of the most technologically-advanced steel equipment manufacturers in the world,” said John Hritz President and CEO of JSW USA. “The electric arc furnace and slab caster that we have broken ground for today will be the most eco-friendly steelmaking melt shop in North America that will feed directly into the soon-to-be-revitalized plate mill of the future with a contiguous pipe mill, creating hundreds of new jobs for decades to come.”
The groundbreaking event hosted over 200 attendees and began with remarks from Samir Kapadia, The Vogel Group, introducing the panel of speakers. Speakers included John Hritz President and CEO of JSW USA and Parth Jindal, Director of JSW USA and son of the Chairman and Managing Director of JSW Group, a $13 billion India-based Group, of which JSW USA is a wholly-owned subsidiary. Also in attendance were Bryan Daniel, Executive Director of the Governor's Office of Economic Development and Tourism, and Congressman Brian Babin.
"Today’s groundbreaking not only expands JSW’s growing footprint in Texas, but it also represents its commitment to being an innovative leader in manufacturing,” said Governor Abbott in a statement. “Facilities like the one here in Baytown are the backbone of the Texas economy as well as the key to our future economic success. It was clear during my visit to Mumbai and from today’s groundbreaking that JSW has a long-term strategy to grow its presence here in Texas, and I thank them for their continued investment as an essential part of our economic success story.”
The session closed with a trip to the facility where John Hritz, Parth Jindal, Congressman Babin and Bryan Daniel shoveled the first bit of earth to mark the beginning of construction.
"On behalf of JSW Steel India, our US facility's parent, I would like to say that we are really proud and excited to be building this fully integrated plate and pipe mill in Baytown, Texas, enabling this unit to be considered a US melt and manufacture facility. JSW Steel is committed to be a leading steel manufacturer using the most technologically advanced equipment. With start-of-the-art facilities spread across India, North America and Europe, the upgrade of our plant in Baytown, Texas is another step for us in achieving our goal. JSW Group is committed to giving back to the community and in actively participating in revitalizing steel production in the US. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the President of the United States and the Governor of Texas for their constant support in shaping our world class steel making dream into reality,” said Parth Jindal, Director of JSW USA and son of the Chairman and Managing Director of JSW Group.
The melt and manufacture electric arc furnace and slab caster are being built on 111 acres at JSW USA’s 700-acre Baytown campus.
