Republic Steel to restart Ohio EAF

Canton, Ohio-based Republic Steel, a steelmaker specializing in special bar quality (SBQ) steel products, has announced plans to reopen its facility in Lorain, Ohio. The facility includes an electric arc furnace (EAF), casters and rolling mills.

Republic has stated it is prepared to respond quickly to an anticipated uptick in demand for its steel in the United States. The company currently has active capacity at its Canton melt shop, and restarting its facility in Lorain would allow it to provide more than 1 million tons of new production capacity to support the SBQ bar and coil and seamless tube round markets.

The company says it expects to reopen the steel mill later in 2018 after hiring and training new employees and restarting its idled equipment.

“Republic is more than prepared to support market demand that has been previously supplied by imports,” says Jaime Vigil, Republic’s president and CEO. “We maintained our Lorain facility while it's been idled waiting for the opportunity to restart, and it appears that time is finally here.”

In addition to its Canton and Lorain operations, Republic also operates rolling and finishing facilities in Massillon and Solon, Ohio; Gary, Indiana; Lackawanna, New York; and in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.