SeverCorr reels in 'little' fish to feed mill's appetite for scrap

Nov 04, 2005 | 05:20 AM | Michael Marley

Behind all the hoopla surrounding the start of construction of SeverCorr LLC's steelworks was word that a little-known scrap metals powerhouse will handle all the scrap for the new $880-million flat-rolled mini-mill in Columbus, Miss.

Jefferson Iron & Metal Brokerage will be responsible for all scrap purchases and logistics for the 1.5-million-ton-a-year mill, slated for startup in the second quarter of 2007.

Groundbreaking ceremonies were held and construction got started last month at the eastern Mississippi site about 100 miles west of Birmingham, Ala. Initially, the new mill will be designed to produce about 1.5 million tons of flat-rolled steel a year for the outer body panels of vehicles made by foreign automakers that have set up shop in the South. If successful, SeverCorr's output could be increased to 2.5 million tons annually.

That, in the view of some steel industry observers, might be a tough order for any electric furnace-based steelmaker to fill, given its dependency on scrap and the new mill's location in the region, where little high-quality steel scrap is generated.....