I’ve been writing a lot in recent weeks about the steel boom in northeast Arkansas. It’s the most fascinating story in the state right now. There’s the Nucor-Yamato mill, which became the state’s first large steel mill in 1987. There’s the nearby Nucor Hickman mill, which began production in 1992. Those mills are in the northern part of Mississippi County.
In the southern part of the county, there’s the original Big River Steel mill between Osceola and Wilson. Back in 2019, an article in Forbes described Big River as “hands down the most technologically advanced and fastest-growing steel producer in North America” and noted that the average Big River production worker earned $129,000 annually.
Later this year, a second Big River mill (both mills are now owned by U.S. Steel) will begin production. The cost of that mill is $3 billion, the largest private capital investment in Arkansas history.
Just up the road at Osceola, Dave Stickler (the man Forbes once described as “the Steve Jobs of steel”) is spending almost $1 billion so his new company, Hybar, can produce rebar. Hybar, which will have its own port on the Mississippi River, purchased 1,300 acres for the facility.
Stickler broke ground at daylight Aug. 1, 2023, the day after financing closed. He told me last year: “I would have broken ground at midnight if we had had any lights out there. We’ll produce 630,000 tons of rebar a year.”
Those mills (two Nucor, two Big River and Hybar) are what I refer to as the Big Five in Mississippi County, soon to be the leading steel-producing county in America. But there’s much more that needs to be mentioned before moving on to other subjects.
Stickler announced during the summer that Hybar will invest “close to $40 million” to partner with CarbiCrete of Montreal to manufacture cement-free concrete blocks in Arkansas. It will be only the second plant of its kind in the world. The other is in Canada. CarbiCrete will use Hybar’s slag byproduct from steel production as an alternative concrete binder to make the blocks without cement.
“It takes cement right out of the process,” Stickler says. “It gets rid of a byproduct we would otherwise have to find a home for.”
Back in the northern part of the county, Zekelman Industries, the biggest independent steel pipe and tube manufacturer in North America, announced earlier this year that it will invest up to $120 million to expand manufacturing capabilities and product offerings of its subsidiary Atlas Tube. The project will bring the number of Zekelman employees in the area to more than 300.
Zekelman also announced that it will partner with Arkansas Northeastern College at Blytheville on a workforce training initiative.
“Education and skills training are crucial to developing the next generation of workers,” Tom Muth, Zekelman’s chief operating officer, said when the announcement was made. “Our goal at Zekelman is to prepare, nurture and inspire students entering the thriving and well-paying steel industry. Our commitment is representative of our partnership with the Blytheville community and ongoing dedication to domestic-only manufacturing.”
Zekelman, a manufacturer of hollow structural sections and steel pipe, already operates two Atlas Tube facilities near Blytheville. The latest project allows the company to manufacture steel tube galvanizing products in size ranges not currently available in North America.
Zekelman has been active in Mississippi County since 2011. The second Atlas Tube facility opened in 2022 at a cost of $250 million.
The money donated to Arkansas Northeastern College, a two-year institution, enables students to obtain associate of applied science degrees. Those students also can pursue internships at an Atlas Tube facility.
“Arkansas Northeastern College has a strong track record of success in working alongside area employers to design tailored training programs that meet industry needs,” says Chris Heigle, the school’s president. “These partnerships benefit our students, equipping them with real-world skills needed to secure good-paying jobs while fueling the growth of this region’s economy.”
Another major player in the county is Majestic Steel USA. Its 513,633-square-foot facility at Hickman began operations in May. The company, which is headquartered in Cleveland, has eight other locations across the country. It is a processor and distributor of flat-rolled steel. The company has four locations west of the Rocky Mountains, two in Texas, one in Tampa and one in Cleveland.
Dennis Leebow founded Majestic in 1979. His son, Todd, is now chief executive officer. The Arkansas facility eventually will employ 225 people. The plant has 125,000 square feet of coil steel storage space and 122,000 square feet of finished product storage.
Prospect Steel, a division of Lexicon Inc. of Little Rock, also has been growing in Mississippi County. Prospect is among the nation’s top structural steel fabrication and erection contractors with more than 400,000 square feet of fabrication facilities. As a leader in advanced robotic technologies, Prospect designs, builds and manages complex structures around the world.
Todd Leebow praises Mississippi County’s location.
“It really gives us a position, located in the South, to be able to feed a lot of regions from this facility,” he told Arkansas Business. “We can go north, south and to the southeast. … Arkansas is a great state to be located in to do business. There’s a lot of steel production in the region now.”
Senior Editor Rex Nelson’s column appears regularly in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. He’s also the author of the Southern Fried blog at rexnelsonsouthernfried.com.
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