Ipsco targets USA's sunbelt steel market

摘要

The USA's deep south, almost within sight of the Gulf of Mexico may not at first glance seem the obvious location for a new plate mill. But for Ipsco, a company looking to expand its North American presence in discrete and coiled plate and heavy gauge coiled sheet, Mobile County, Alabama, is the place that makes most sense. Just as the company's mid-1990s decision to expand its hot rolled coil and plate capacity by building a new steelworks at Montpelier, Iowa, was more logical in terms of raw materials sourcing and end-market proximity than expanding its original but remote mill in Regina, mid-Canada, so moving south was, for the same reasons, seen as a better bet than adding capacity at Montpelier.