Texas Governor Greg Abbott recently announced that JSW Steel will be investing $500 million to expand a steel mill in Baytown, which is located about 30 miles east of Houston. The investment from the India-based company is projected to add up to 500 new jobs at an average annual salary of $65,000.
The expansion will play a pivotal role in JSW’s desire to grow its oil and natural gas business. Company officials stated that the investment in additional plate milling equipment and a new furnace will allow the plant to begin sourcing raw steel from Texas and other states instead of Brazil, Mexico, and India.
The facility, which has been in use since the 1970s, was bought by JSW for just over $800 million in October 2007. It’s currently operating at about 30 percent capacity with 350 employees producing natural gas and oil pipeline products.
The expansion is expected to be made in phases and is contingent upon approval of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency EPA). A $3.4 million grant from the Texas Enterprise Fund, the state's business incentive pool, also awaits approval. In addition to the region’s concentrated oil and gas markets, JSW sees the Baytown plant playing a role in supporting new infrastructure projects and the growing defense and wind power industries.
Despite recent headlines surrounding the ups and downs of the steel industry due to recently announced tariff increases, the company was quick to state that the expansion was not related to political influences. JSW representatives reinforced that the Baytown expansion has been in the works for nearly a year, and is driven by the need to upgrade aging equipment.