Ternium plans to build US$3.2bn steel plant in Mexico

During a press conference on Tuesday, June 20th 2023, Ternium S.A., one of the largest steel companies in Latin America, announced that its new steel mill is designed to meet all the requirements of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. In his remarks at the briefing, Ternium CEO Máximo Vedoya confirmed that the company's new steel mill would be located in Pesquera, in the Mexican state of Nuevo León. 

In his speech, Vedoya said, "Today, we are presenting the largest investment plan in Ternium's history: US$3.2bn, all of which will be invested here in Pesquería, in Nuevo León, in Mexico." 

After initially considering a site in Texas, he shared that the company's board decided to build a new steel mill in the USMCA area. Because of the investment Ternium had already made in the state, he says the internal debate favoured Nuevo León. 

Among the dignitaries in attendance at the inauguration of the new facility were César Jiménez, president of Ternium Mexico, Nuevo León governor Samuel Garcia, and state economy minister Iván Rivas.

State-of-the-art steel mill design

This steel mill will be the continent's most modern and sustainable steelworks thanks to its state-of-the-art design. Keeping safety at the forefront of this enterprise, the new steel mill will operate according to an automated system that enables operators to work remotely 100 percent of the time. As well as having its own carbon capture capability, it will use treated wastewater in the steel production process. In order to protect the environment, Ternium has incorporated the carbon capture technology developed by Tenova into its facilities, which will be the fourth module in the entire operation.

Mr. Vedoya said, "The new state-of-the-art installation will complement the company's new hot rolling mill in Pesquería, which began operations in the middle of 2021," He added that the Total investment by Ternium-formed in 2005 by the merger of Mexican, Argentine and Venezuelan firms–will now increase to some US$6.8bn.

Although the third stage of this megaproject kicked off last year, involving a series of investments designed to integrate operations throughout the USMCA region using the latest technology and complying with the company's 2030 decarbonisation commitment.

How does this affect Mexico's economy?

In his address, the Governor of Nuevo León discussed nearshoring, which involves manufacturers using Mexico's proximity to the United States as well as its advantages of competitive labour costs, specialised workforce, and local industry opportunities. The Governor also revealed at the press conference that a new 18-kilometer highway would be built to link Ternium's Pesquería site to the ring road in the neighbouring municipality of Juárez. 

A construction start is scheduled for December, while the steelworks will open in the first half of 2026. The investment will create over 1,800 direct and indirect jobs in the USMCA region by making 2.6 million tons of cast steel available. Vedoya concluded, "We believe in steel, and we believe in Nuevo León."