CMC Steel Alabama

CMC Steel Alabama is a steel "mini-mill" that produces structural steel products from recycled metal. The plant is located between 5th Avenue South and the Norfolk-Southern Railroad with its entrance on the west end of the site on 50th Street South (map). It is currently owned by the Dallas, Texas-based Commercial Metals Company (NYSE:CMC) and operates as part of the CMC Steel Group, which includes mini-mills in Magnolia, Arkansas; Cayce, South Carolina and Seguin, Texas and around 70 other operations around the country.

Process

CMC Steel Alabama melts down ferrous scrap in a 75 ton DC furnace, mixing the recycled raw material with coke, lime and oxygen to create the right proportions for the finished steel. The molten steel proceeds through a Ladle Metallurgy Station (LMS) for refining per specifications for the final product. After processing, the steel is cast into billets in a 4-strand continuous caster, ready for rolling.

A computer-controlled gas-powered reheat furnace brings the billets to approximately 2150°F in preparation for rolling. The plant's rolling mill consists of a 6-stand rougher, 4-stand intermediate, and 4-stand finishing mill. After being rolled to the proper shape, the steel is sheared to rough lengths and sent to cooling beds. After cooling the shapes are straightened and cut to final length for packing and loading onto trucks or rail cars. CMC Steel Alabama delivers approximately 65 loads per day for an average of 500,000 tons of steel in annual production.

Products

CMC Steel Alabama produces steel structural angles up to 4" x 7", flat bars up to 12" wide and 2" thick, and channels up to 8" depth. Products are available in 20 foot and 40 foot lengths and in multiple grades per ASTM A6 specifications.

History

SMI Steel, which had merged with CMC in 1968, but still operated under the SMI name, purchased the then-dormant Connors Steel plant in December 1983.

External links

• CMC Steel Alabama website