Bartonville Steel Mill to Increase Production, Add 100 New Jobs! (UPDATED)

Liberty Steel USA plans to increase production at its Bartonville plant.

The former Keystone Steel & Wire Co, whose parent Liberty Steel acquired recently for $320 million, has operated a steel mill here since 1917, with some of the adjacent wire-making facilities dating back to 1901. Keystone has made significant investments in recent decades, including a new rod mill in 1988 and existing electric arc furnace (EAF) in 2000. 

In this article posted Tuesday evening by WEEK TV-25, executive chairman, Sanjeev Gupta, revealed during a visit Monday that the plant presently produces 600,000 tons a year, but that round-the-clock operations would allow it to produce up to 1.1 million tons. Gupta's company wants to increase steel production to five million tons by the end of 2020. 

Production expansion appears definite, and would require 100 new workers. The Bartonville steel mill and related facilities employed as many as 1,300 in 2002 but that number has probably slipped below 1,000. While the plant remains an important local employer, it is also a significant rail user. 

Served by the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad, the former Keystone Steel & Wire receives on a regular basis scrap metal from local suppliers (Alter Metal Recycling's ARC and Clarke Yards, and Allied Iron & Steel Co.) and from those elsewhere in Illinois and surrounding states. A small volume of sulfuric acid and zinc ingots arrive by rail. Plants ship coiled wire rod through the nation. Steel billets have been shipped by rail from time to time. Rail is used to ship scrap wire generated at both the Mid Mill and Wire Mill back to the Steel Mill.

Increasing production from 600,000 to 1.1 million tons, nearly double, would most certainly provide area railroads with a surge in traffic. Norfolk Southern handles most of the wire rod shipments, with the rest leaving the area on BNSF, Toledo, Peoria & Western* and Union Pacific. Scrap metal usually arrives on BNSF, Canadian National, Iowa Interstate, Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific when local yards can't meet demand. The mill benefits from direct access to the Illinois River as well. Keystone used to ship and receive far more by rail than it does today, so existing rail facilities - TZPR's Kickapoo Yard in particular - can handle a surge in business. 

*The Toledo, Peoria & Western interlines this traffic with CSX Transportation.

UPDATE (1-16-19): The Peoria Journal Star story adds information.

(1) The headline, New Keystone owner: Production to double by 2021, says it all.

(2) Sanjeev Gupta is chairman of GFG Alliance, a conglomerate which owns Liberty Steel.

(3) The plant is only operating at 40- to 50-percent capacity and is making money. Shifts are running 24 hours a day, three days a week, and employs 950. There are job 60 openings.

Here are several videos illustrating the importance of Keystone Steel & Wire Co. to the Peoria railscene. 

TZPR 1521 leads an "Industry Job" with 32 cars enroute to Kickapoo Yard on November 5, 2018. Empty gondolas assigned to wire rod service, as well as scrap metal loads, are bound for Keystone. 

TPW 2056 (from sister TP&W) leads an "Industry Job" back to East Peoria on March 29, 2016. Most cars contain wire rod. 

TZPR 1352 spots empty gondolas at the south end of Keystone Steel & Wire Co's Wire Mill on May 31, 2013. Cars will be loaded with scrap wire. 

On July 23, 2013 TZPR 1520 shoves three scrap wire loads and three empties into the Mid Mill.

This 48-car Norfolk Southern train, shown September 3, 2018 at Crandall (outside Morton), has 32 wire rod loads! 

- David P. Jordan