Gerdau Ameristeel to Add 400,000 Tons Capacity to Rolling Mill

Gerdau Ameristeel Corporation announced that it has begun the planning process for a capital project to expand its Jacksonville Steel Mill, located in Baldwin, Florida.

The expansion is expected to add approximately 400,000 tons to the Gerdau Ameristeel Jacksonville rolling mill, matching the facility's recently expanded melting capacity of more than 1,000,000 tons. J. Neal McCullohs, Vice President of Commercial and Downstream Operations, commented that "this planned expansion will complete our plans to have a global scale rebar plant in Florida to serve the Southeastern United States with the highest quality, lowest cost products in the industry. We have been a market leader in rebar in this region and we believe this project will enable us to continue to serve our customers long into the future."

An engineering team is well into the planning process for the expansion; which is expected to be completed by 2010. The primary products out of the Jacksonville Mill will continue to be Rebar and Wire Rod.