Hybar LLC is doubling down on its investment in Arkansas with a $1.1 billion expansion that will significantly increase steel rebar production at its Osceola facility.
The company recently announced it has secured $1.1 billion to expand its technologically advanced, environmentally sustainable scrap metal recycling steel rebar mini mill. The project comes less than a year after Hybar’s first mini mill began operating, with the facility already generating positive cash flow by its fourth month of operation.
Company leaders officially broke ground on the expansion, which will add a second steel rebar mini mill supplied by SMS Group, a global technology provider to the steel industry. Construction is expected to take about 24 months.
Once complete, the Osceola campus is expected to produce approximately 1.3 million tons of steel rebar annually, representing nearly 13% of the U.S. domestic market.
The expansion builds on Hybar’s strategic location in northeast Arkansas, where the company utilizes barge, rail and truck transportation to distribute products nationwide. Hybar says it is the only U.S. rebar producer that offers customers all three direct transportation options.
Its steel is used in projects across the country, including data centers, medical campus expansions, energy infrastructure and transportation improvements, such as roads, bridges and tunnels.
“We have a great site with three modes of transportation; best in class technology; and outstanding highly motivated employees, but what truly differentiates Hybar is our ‘can-do’ ‘get-in-done’ culture. Empowering employees, stripping away bureaucracy, pushing decision making down to the mill floor, and constantly looking for better, faster, more sustainable ways to make steel are the keys to Hybar’s success,” said Dave Stickler, Hybar CEO.
The company is also continuing its focus on sustainable steel production. Hybar purchases electricity through a special-rate agreement with Entergy Arkansas, whose power generation fleet is among the nation’s lowest carbon-emitting. In addition, Hybar’s sister company, Green & Clean Power LLC, operates what the company says is the largest industrial behind-the-meter solar and battery storage facility in the United States, adjacent to the Osceola plant.
Pending final certifications and testing later this summer, Hybar expects to become the only steel producer in North America capable of manufacturing steel using 100% renewable energy when solar power is available.
Following the expansion, the company expects to produce nearly 5,000 tons of rebar annually per employee, a productivity level Hybar believes will rank among the highest in the global steel industry.
“Hybar is a true success story for the steel industry, building state-of-the-art facilities and producing sustainable scrap metal right in northeastern Arkansas,” said Clint O’Neal, executive director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. “Dave Stickler and Hybar have steadily invested in Arkansas thanks to our state’s infrastructure, workforce, and favorable business climate. We are proud of this continued partnership and look forward to many more years of Hybar’s success in Mississippi County.”
The financing for the expansion was supported by Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and TPG Capital BD, LLC as joint lead bookrunners for a notes offering, with Truist Securities and Barclays serving as co-managers. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and Barclays also served as lead underwriters for a municipal bond offering.
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