Whyalla steelworks owner Sanjeev Gupta has hailed the re-opening of the historic Georgetown steelworks in South Carolina as the latest milestone in his company’s revitalisation of steel industries around the globe.
Gupta, whose GFG Alliance acquired South Australia’s Whyalla steelworks from collapsed metals firm Arrium in 2017, was in South Carolina this week saying GFG planned to invest more than $5 billion in a series of projects across the US and Canada in the next few years.
The recommissioning of Georgetown’s furnaces and wire rod mills was the first of these major investments.
“This is a historic moment in the story of [GFG subsidiary] Liberty Steel and GFG,” Gupta said on June 25 (local time). “It marks our first step into the American market and is as much a milestone for us in the USA as the restart of Liberty Steel Newport after a similar shutdown period in the UK.”
The Georgetown restart provides around 125 new jobs for steelworkers – a figure Gupta expects to rise in the medium term to 320 direct jobs.
“This first investment is our vote of confidence in the future of metals and heavy industrial sector in the USA,” Gupta said.
“GFG’s economic model globally has long-term sustainability at its core, based on the development of local resources, including educational and local community development, and the production of quality products for the domestic market.”
After buying the Whyalla steelworks for roughly $700 million in 2017, Gupta announced the acquisition of Glencore’s Tahmoor coal mine in NSW, with the aim of securing Whyalla with a reliable, high-quality met coal supply to complement its iron ore mines in South Australia.
Gupta has indicated an interest in developing an electric car manufacturing business in Australia, and has also expressed a desire to develop renewable energy assets in Australia.