Decision comes after careful consideration of proposal from the
State of Oklahoma
and
City of Sand Springs
TAMPA, FL
,
Jan. 7
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - After careful evaluation of a comprehensive proposal submitted to Gerdau Ameristeel by the
State of Oklahoma
and
City of Sand Springs
aimed at maintaining steel production at the company's steel mill in
Sand Springs, Oklahoma
, Gerdau Ameristeel has decided to continue the idling of its
Sand Springs
steel mill for the foreseeable future.
"We appreciate the hard work of the
City of Sand Springs
, the
State of Oklahoma
, and the
Sand Springs
legislative delegation, led by House Speaker
Chris Benge
, State Senator
Dan Newberry
, State Representative Lucky Lammons, and
Sand Springs
City Manager
Doug Enevoldsen
," said
Terry Sutter
, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Gerdau Ameristeel. "We commend them for their extraordinary efforts in trying to find a workable solution to a very difficult problem. Unfortunately, due to a combination of on-going weak market conditions, the company's need for a significantly more flexible workforce structure at the mill, and the significant capital investment required by the company, we have decided not to move forward."
Company executives met on
Thursday, January 7
with representatives from the Oklahoma Treasury Department and the Department of Commerce, as well as with local officials and members of the legislative delegation to discuss the company's activities going forward. The company reiterated its willingness to re-consider the proposal at a future time if business conditions warrant.
Despite the steel mill's indefinite idling, Gerdau Ameristeel continues to maintain a strong presence throughout
Oklahoma
, where it employs more than 100 employees at rebar fabrication locations, recycling plants and railway facilities in
Sand Springs
,
Muskogee, Oklahoma
City and
Tulsa
. In
Sand Springs
, the company will continue to operate the Sand Springs Railway, as well as its Sand Springs Rail Products and Sand Springs Recycling facilities.
About Gerdau Ameristeel
Gerdau Ameristeel is the second largest mini-mill steel producer in
North America
, with annual manufacturing capacity of approximately 12 million tons of mill finished steel products. Through its vertically integrated network of mini-mills, scrap recycling facilities, and downstream operations, Gerdau Ameristeel serves customers throughout
the United States
and
Canada
. The Company's products are generally sold to steel service centers, steel fabricators, or directly to original equipment manufacturers ("OEMs") for use in a variety of industries, including non-residential, infrastructure, commercial, industrial and residential construction, metal building, manufacturing, automotive, mining, cellular and electrical transmission and equipment manufacturing. Gerdau Ameristeel's majority shareholder is the Gerdau Group, a 100+ year old steel company, the leading company in the production of long steel in the Americas and one of the major specialty long steel suppliers in the world. Gerdau Ameristeel's common shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol GNA.
SOURCE Gerdau Ameristeel Corporation
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