OREANDA-NEWS. July 14, 2011. Severstal North America (“Severstal”), a subsidiary of Severstal, today announced that it has received a conditional commitment for a USD 730 million loan from the U.S. Department of Energy.

The proceeds from the loan will be used to design, manufacture, and construct Severstal’s finishing facilities in Dearborn, Michigan, which will produce the next generation of  advanced high strength steels (AHSS) for automotive applications.

AHSS is a critical component for Advanced Technology Vehicle manufacturers as they seek to meet U.S Government fuel efficiency goals and crash standards.  Upon completion of the modernization projects, Severstal’s Dearborn facilities will include a 2.1 million ton per year coupled pickle line tandem cold rolling mill, a 0.5 million ton per year hot dip galvanizing line, and a 0.5 million ton per year continuous annealing line, all with 72-inch width capability.

In total, Severstal’s AHSS investment will create estimated 2,500 construction jobs, 260 permanent manufacturing jobs, and enable the retention of 1,400 existing manufacturing jobs.  In addition, the new facilities, built on a brownfield site in Dearborn, will provide environmental benefits by enabling reduction of petroleum-based fuels consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.

“We are grateful to have received this conditional commitment from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office. The loan will help advance U.S. manufacturing, create new jobs and support energy conservation efforts. It will allow Severstal North America to build state-of-the-art facilities to produce a broad range of advanced high strength steels for future generations of lighter, more fuel efficient vehicles,” said Sergei Kuznetsov, CEO, Severstal North America.