Big River Steel has established a new production record in terms of tons of steel produced by a SMS group supplied flat-rolled mini mill during the first full month of operation. With over 63,000 tons of hot rolled steel produced in January, the first full month of production, Big River topped the previous first month production record according to data maintained by SMS group, Big River’s lead technology supplier.

“Starting up a mill such as Big River’s takes a team effort and all of us at Big River take pride in this accomplishment as we work to meet the demands of our customers,” said Dave Stickler, Big River Steel’s chief executive officer.

Big River has built the world’s first Flex Mill^®, a steel mini mill focused on the production of a wide product spectrum, including advanced automotive steels and electrical steels. The facility, located in Osceola, Arkansas, is designed to produce the largest range of hot strip dimensions possible using the latest thin slab casting and rolling technologies from SMS.

Axel Sprenger, project manager for SMS group, stated, “The Big River Steel team is extremely impressive and SMS is proud to be working alongside so many experienced operators and managers. This start-up record is just one of many milestones that the Big River Steel and SMS teams have already achieved.”