New Steel Slab Mill in Pesquería, Nuevo León, Mexico Ternium expands integrated operations in Mexico with a new steel slab mill in line with its decarbonization target.
Ternium is building a new steel slab mill with the aim of integrating operations into the company’s existing downstream facilities in the Pesquería Industrial Center, Mexico, as well as advancing its decarbonization roadmap. The increased slab production capacity will complement and support the company’s state-of-the-art hot-rolling mill, which began operations in mid-2021, as well as the existing downstream facilities and those that are also being built there.
The project consists of the construction of an electric arc furnace (EAF)-based steel shop with annual capacity of 2.6 million tons, as well as a direct reduced iron (DRI) module with annual capacity of 2.1 million tons. Ternium currently expects to commission these facilities in the fourth quarter of 2026.
“The implementation of the USMCA trade agreement and recent trends of nearshoring manufacturing capacity in the steel value chain have made Mexico an attractive destination for continued investment,” said Ternium CEO Máximo Vedoya at the announcement of the steel slab mill project in February 2023. “In a market that is increasingly demanding differentiated products and services, this new project will advance the continued integration of our industrial system and reinforce Ternium’s position as a leading steel supplier in the region.”
“Importantly, the new EAF-based steel shop will also accelerate Ternium’s progress toward achieving our 2030 decarbonization target and support our ongoing compliance with the USMCA’s ‘melted and poured’ requirement,” continued Mr. Vedoya. “The new DRI module will also include carbon capture capabilities and readiness to switch from natural gas to hydrogen use when and if available.”
Ternium’s current downstream project in the industrial center in Pesquería includes a push-pull pickling line with annual capacity of 550,000 tons and new finishing lines. In addition the downstream project includes a cold-rolling mill and a hot-dip galvanizing line with annual capacity of 1.6 million tons and 600,000 tons, respectively.
