The HBI plant built at a dock in Corpus Christi will begin full production this summer. The plant is now in testing phase as it nears competition in the next few weeks. Courtesy photo ©voestalpine AG
The first shipment of iron pellets that will be processed at the Voestalpine plant in Corpus Christi recently arrived at the Port of Corpus Christi via Brazil. The pellets will be turned into briquettes and used to produce a strong, lightweight steel to build airplanes, trucks, buses and other transport vehicles.
Construction of the $700 million plant is so near competition that test runs have begun as the last phase is completed. Fulltime production is expected to begin this summer. As of January 2017, the plant is expected to produce 2 million tonnes of high quality HBI (hot briquettes iron), a pre-material needed for steel production.
The plant is the largest foreign investment made by the Austrian company in the USA to date. It is the largest and most modern plant of its kind in the nation, said Wolfgang Eder, chairman of the management board of Voestalpine Austrian Group. More than 80 percent of the expected production volume has already been allocated for sale.
Over the next 10 years, Voestalpine says it will create up to $600 million in value for the Coastal Bend, providing 150 long-term jobs. Currently, around 1,000 construction workers are employed at the site. At the beginning of 2016, 2,300 were at work.
