Steel Dynamics, Inc., sometimes abbreviated as "SDI", is an American steel producer based in

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...

. With a production capacity of 13 million tons of steel, the company is the third largest producer of carbon steel products in the United States. It is among the most profitable American steel companies in terms of

profit margin Profit margin is a measure of profitability. It is calculated by finding the profit as a percentage of the revenue. \text = = There are 3 types of profit margins: gross profit margin, operating profit margin and net profit margin. * Gross Pro ...

s and

operating margin In business, operating margin—also known as operating income margin, operating profit margin, EBIT margin and return on sales (ROS)—is the ratio of operating income ("operating profit" in the UK) to net sales, usually expressed in percent. ...

per ton. Based on its 2021 revenue, the company ranked 196th on the 2022 edition of the Fortune 500.

History

Steel Dynamics was founded in 1993 by three former executives of

Nucor Nucor Corporation is an American producer of steel and related products based in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is the largest steel producer in the United States, the largest "mini-mill" steelmaker (i.e. it uses electric arc furnaces to melt s ...

with $370 million in funding. It began production at its $275 million

Butler, Indiana Butler is a city in DeKalb County, Indiana, United States. The population was 2,684 at the 2010 census. History Butler was platted in 1856 when the railroad was extended to that point. It was likely named for David Butler, a pioneer. Butler was ...

, flat roll mill in 1996 and reported its first annual profit in 1997. During the

early 2000s recession The early 2000s recession was a decline in economic activity which mainly occurred in developed countries. The recession affected the European Union during 2000 and 2001 and the United States from March to November 2001. The UK, Canada and Au ...

, the company offered many incentive programs for employees to cut costs and improve standards and outperformed most other steel manufacturers. In 2007, the company acquired The Techs, three

hot-dip galvanization Hot-dip galvanization is a form of galvanization. It is the process of coating iron and steel with zinc, which alloys with the surface of the base metal when immersing the metal in a bath of molten zinc at a temperature of around . When expos ...

plants in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

that coat flat-rolled steel, and OmniSource Corporation, a scrap metal processor and trader. In 2014, the company acquired

Severstal Severstal (russian: Северсталь, , Northern Steel) is a Russian company mainly operating in the steel and mining industry, headquartered in Cherepovets. Severstal is listed on the Moscow Exchange and LSE and is the largest steel compan ...

Columbus for $1.625 billion. The acquisition increased the company's production capacity to 11 million tons. In 2016, the company acquired Vulcan Threaded Products for $126 million. In 2016, the company began construction of a $100 million facility in Columbus, Mississippi. In 2017, the company began a $28 million expansion of its Roanoke Bar Division. In 2017, the company began a $75 million expansion of its Structural and Rail Division. In 2018, the company acquired the former Kentucky Electric Steel plant in Coalton, Kentucky. in 2020, production for the Sinton,TX facility commenced. It is a 2,400-acre complex which is supposed to also house several other businesses who work with SDI in other cities. 3,000 jobs should be created when complete.

Controversies

Environmental damage

In 2021, the company agreed to pay $475,000 and spend $3 million to upgrade

air pollution Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different typ ...

control equipment to reduce air emissions at its facilities in

to after allegations by the

United States Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it ...

that the company was violating the

Clean Air Act of 1963 The Clean Air Act (CAA) is the United States' primary federal air quality law, intended to reduce and control air pollution nationwide. Initially enacted in 1963 and amended many times since, it is one of the United States' first and most inf ...

Price-fixing allegations

The company was accused in a lawsuit of participating in a

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agre ...

with other steel manufacturers to restrict steel production in 2008. In October 2016, the company settled the case, agreeing to pay $4.6 million.

References

External links

* {{authority control, state=expanded Steel companies of the United States Companies listed on the Nasdaq Companies established in 1993 Companies based in Fort Wayne, Indiana 1996 initial public offerings