In a city that has a long history with steel milling, the Evraz North American company has announced plans to spend nearly $500 million building a modern rail-rolling facility.
Members of Evraz’s board of directors have now voted to select Pueblo, Colorado as the home to their new mill, a facility that will go up next to an existing company mill at 2100 South Freeway Road.
The announcement follows on the heels of months of talks between Evraz and both Colorado and local officials in an effort to get the new mill built in Pueblo.
“Pueblo workers have been making the world’s best steel for nearly 140 years,” Colorado Governor Jared Polis said in a statement, “and with this addition, Pueblo’s next generation of steel workers can count on good-paying jobs well into the future.”
In trying to secure the new mill, the Pueblo City Council had earlier approved a roughly $15 million incentive package for Evraz.
The steel mill industry has played an enormous role in the history of Pueblo dating to the early 1880s, manufacturing spikes, iron and steel bars and plates, and rails, at what was initially called the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company plant.
Evraz, which is was founded in Moscow but is now based in London, acquired ownership of the Pueblo mill in 2007.
By Garry Boulard
