Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI), Fort Wayne, Ind., is beginning an engineering study aimed at building a new flat-rolled mini-mill in the United States, Keith Busse, the company's chairman and chief executive officer, said Monday.

Busse stressed that the mill is only in its very early planning stages, adding that no site has been selected. The value of investment and the exact capacity of the mill haven't yet been determined.

"We are looking at building a mill," Busse said. "The (company's) board is supportive of the plan, but no final decisions have been made. The board has not approved anything yet, but it is on the drawing board."

Given the nature of long lead times in the area of mill equipment deliveries, it would likely be at least two years before the project would even begin construction, he said, adding that SDI has "feelers out" in several states that might prove suitable locations. He declined to specify which states were being eyed.

We're not even looking at specific sites yet," he said. "At this stage, given the nature of equipment deliveries, we're looking at something that still is two years away or more."

SDI doesn't want to scare investors with the announcement of a major investment plan, Busse said, but added that in two years' time the company's balance sheet will look a lot different than it does today. By then, given its current growth tract, he believes SDI will have generated sufficient cash flow to pay off some of its outstanding debt and put itself in a strong financial position to move forward with the project.

The annual capacity of the mill has yet to be determined and will be based largely on the...