International industrial and metals group Liberty House has announced that it has reached an agreement with global steel giant ArcelorMittal to purchase ArcelorMittal’s Georgetown steelworks in South Carolina, US, including its 600,000 mt a year electric arc furnace and 750,000 mt a year rod mill.
Liberty stated that, if completed as planned, the acquisition will give Liberty the opportunity to reopen and revitalize the mill, which was an important part of the state’s industrial infrastructure for 47 years before its closure in August 2015. It would also mark the first significant step in Liberty’s plan to make major investments in the US steel industry.
Liberty’s executive chairman Sanjeev Gupta stated that acquiring the plant at Georgetown, with its ability to recycle scrap steel in an arc furnace, gives Liberty a strong platform from which to launch its Greensteel strategy in the US, as it is doing in the UK.
According to Liberty’s statement, it has also been in discussion with the United Steelworkers (USW) union and is confident that the union will support and assist in the process of recruiting a workforce to reopen the plant and rebuild the business.