JSW Steel to Invest $500 Million in Texas Facility

JSW Steel USA will invest up to $500 million in phases to develop its steel manufacturing infrastructure in Baytown, Texas. According to a Memorandum of Cooperation signed between Texas governor Greg Abbott and the company in Mumbai on March 26, the amount will be used to develop and expand its plate and pipe mill unit.

A Texas Enterprise Fund (TEF) grant offer of $3.4 million has also been extended to JSW Steel USA, according to a statement from the governor’s office. JSW Steel USA is a subsidiary of JSW Steel Ltd, India’s leading producer of steel.

The investment will help the company realize the full one-million ton installed capacity of the plant that it purchased in 2007. It also aims to put an end to sourcing raw steel from countries like Latin America and India, and source it from the Texas region once the new facility is commissioned.

“The $500 million investment from JSW Steel to expand its operations in Texas shows what we can achieve when we work to be better every single day. Made in Texas is a powerful label, and I thank JSW for investing in our great state. We look forward to forging an even stronger partnership and continuing economic and job growth in the Lone Star State,” Abbott said in the statement.

The memorandum is part of the company’s long-term strategy to enhance its footprints in the United States, said Parth Jindal, managing director, JSW Cement.

Abbott also took to the social media to announce the deal, saying it will create 500 new jobs and also boost economic growth in Texas.

Closed a landmark deal with @jswsteel in Mumbai to expand its operations in Baytown, TX that will create 500 new jobs and expand economic growth in Texas. https://t.co/U03PD8MuIN pic.twitter.com/b8hU2hXKRh

— Gov. Greg Abbott (@GovAbbott) March 26, 2018

Jindal added that the deal reiterates the company’s commitment to stay invested and grow in the U.S. market. “It also provides JSW USA an opportunity to participate in USA’s infrastructure development and job creation priorities. Access to natural gas at extremely economical prices and the abundant availability of scrap steel in Texas make conditions very conducive for manufacturing through the Electric Arc Furnace route,” he added.

The company is looking to create a fully integrated steel complex. It will help to bring accuracy in manufacturing of high quality steel plate and pipe to Texas, the statement added.

“From India alone, we have been importing 1.5 lakh ton of raw steel plates. This will come to an end by October 2020 when the second phase of expansion is complete. The first phase will be over by March 2019,” Jindal said, the Economic Times reported.

JSW USA operates one of the widest steel plate and pipe mills in North America, located at Baytown, Texas. the unit caters to the requirement of energy, petrochemicals, defense and other heavy equipment industries in the United States.

An investment of $150 million that is already underway will be used to enhance the plant’s capabilities, and it will be completed by 2020. JSW USA intends to use the rest of investment, up to $350 million, to set up a new hot end facility, a statement from JSW Steel said.