Oregon, United States: On May 22, 2021, Cascade Steel Rolling Mills (CSRM) in McMinnville, Oregon, experienced a fire that impacted the mill’s melt shop and caused equipment damage and property loss. Fortunately, there were no injuries reported from the incident.

AMI was contacted by CSRM to assist in the repair and replacement project of the mill’s melt shop and immediately assigned resources to the site, assessed the extent of the damage, and designed a solid strategy to put the “Five Strands Caster” back online in the shortest possible time.

In order to expedite project delivery, AMI also formed two teams, one on-site at CSRM and one based at AMI’s headquarters in Monterrey, Mexico, to work in tandem and manage both the logistical and engineering tasks at hand.

Through effective communication, technical expertise, commitment and teamwork AMI and CSRM successfully met each challenge faced during the repair of the melt shop. Efficient project management was the cornerstone of this combined effort which ensured the installation of new equipment and the successful start-up process.

Cascade Steel Rolling Mills’ Caster resumed operations with a full workforce in an unprecedented record time of just 11 weeks, a goal that at first seemed to be impossible, was only achieved thanks to the team’s resilience, hard work and a strong spirit of collaboration.

About Cascade Steel Rolling Mills:

Founded in 1968, Cascade Steel Rolling Mills is a state-of-the-art steel manufacturing facility that takes recycled metal and turns it into high-quality finished steel products. Located in McMinnville, OR (near Portland), their electric arc furnace (EAF) mini-mill produces a wide range of hot rolled products such as reinforcing bar (rebar), coiled reinforcing bar, wire rod, merchant bar and other specialty products.