A major steel mill company is expanding in Robstown. Tex-Isle Inc. plans to open a new tubular steel mill by the end of 2021 with plans to provide resources for the Steel Dynamics Inc. plant nearing completion near Sinton. The Tex-Isle plant will be located near the intersection of Texas 89 and U.S. 77. 
"The growth in the Coastal Bend area around Corpus Christi provides enormous opportunity for our company,” said Billy Sias, Tex-Isle business development manager. “Our growing facility in Robstown has numerous strategic advantages. We feel this is an ideal manufacturing footprint, which tightens our supply chain."
Advantages listed by Sias include the plant’s location on a Union Pacific mainline and near the deepwater Port of Corpus Christi. One of the major bulk cargo customers at the port, Tex-Isle is developing property there for a laydown and storage facility.
A Houston-based company, Tex-Isle is a leading provider of Oil Country Tubular Goods products, line pipe, and associated services. 
A 60,000-square-foot facility will house a mill built to produce steel tubes from 2.375 inches to 8.625 inches in outside diameter. Of the 350,000 tons of product per year that the mill is expected to produce, 250,000 tons are slated for American Petroleum Institute. The remaining 100,000 tons will be held in reserve for structural products delivered to Corpus Christi and South Texas industries.
The new steel mill is expected to operate totally on electric technology, including renewable energy. Its finished products will be composed from as much as 85 percent recycled material. 
“This facility represents our ongoing commitment to expanding our manufacturing capabilities while also lowering our carbon footprint,” Tex-Isle President Chris Kayem said. “We are constantly evaluating further opportunities to achieve both of these goals."