Vinton Steel, the U.S. subsidiary of Japan’s Kyoei Steel Ltd., has signed a contract with Tenova, a global supplier of sustainable technologies for the metals industry, to install a state-of-the-art walking hearth reheating furnace at its El Paso, Texas facility.
The furnace will be tailored to meet the demanding process requirements of high-carbon steel billets used in producing large-diameter grinding media, a segment where Vinton Steel holds a strong regional position and where demand is rising, particularly from the mining sector.
The new furnace will operate alongside the company’s Green CityMill Flex project, which aims to lift Vinton Steel’s annual rebar production capacity to 400,000 tons. Recognized as one of the most efficient and sustainable long-products platforms on the market, the Green CityMill Flex project and the new reheating furnace are both scheduled to come online in the first half of 2027.
Founded in 1962 as Border Steel Company and acquired by Kyoei Steel in 2016, Vinton Steel is the leading steel recycler in West Texas and New Mexico. Its operations include scrap processing, an EAF melt shop, a bar rolling mill, and a grinding ball mill, supplying reinforcing bars, grinding balls, and plain rounds to the construction and mining industries. Parent company Kyoei Steel Ltd., headquartered in Osaka and established in 1947, operates steel manufacturing plants in Japan, Vietnam, and North America.
