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F E AT U R E
Expansion of SDI LaFarga COPPERWORKS: a hot success story On Feb. 10, 2020, SDI LaFarga COPPERWORKS™ broke ground on an ambitious $16 million expansion that would more than doubled its production of copper rod and wire. Located in New Haven, Indiana, COPPERWORKS was formed from two companies: the LaFarga Group, which innovated a process to manufacture copper over 200 years ago, and Steel Dynamics, whose innovation has changed the steel industry. COPPERWORKS uses a highly efficient, sustainable system to reclaim processed copper, refine it and provide new copper rod and wire.
The company’s expansion culminated on Sept. 4, 2020, with the commissioning of a second melting furnace. The furnace manufacturer expected that commissioning would take from 18 to 24 months, but the COPPERWORKS team brought it online in only 11 months. The furnace is the newest, most automated furnace currently in the U.S. and features the latest oxygen control systems. A key outcome of investing in the new furnace is that it allowed COPPERWORKS to expand its product line to offer Electrolytic Tough Pitch (ETP) copper
rod. This new product offering, which the company calls Elemental™ copper rod, is the direct result of a pioneering, entrepreneurial mindset that permeates the culture of COPPERWORKS and Steel Dynamics. Steel Dynamics President and CEO Mark Millett said that the results are extremely impressive. “I’ve spent 37 years in the industry, most of the time pioneering new technologies that people said, ‘Well, now, that’s never going to work.’ You start them up and they don’t work more often than not. But, you’ve got to persevere. These folks, these men and women of SDI LaFarga, have really persevered. They’ve overcome everything that stood in their way and done a phenomenal job.” With the new furnace coming online, COPPERWORKS is now able to produce 250 million pounds of Elemental copper annually. That is in addition to the company’s existing ability to produce 180 million pounds of Infinity™ FRHC copper rod each year. This expansion is the first phase in COPPERWORKS’ five-year growth plan. It has helped support a dramatic increase in demand for quality copper rod and wire products. “We see a bright future for COPPERWORKS and the copper rod and wire industry in general,” said SDI LaFarga COPPERWORKS President Kurt Breischaft. “Our new furnace is providing our industry with the much needed volume it will require to meet the increasing demand for copper product, while providing customers more choices. These were our two top priorities in our expansion plan.” He added that the second furnace has allowed the company to access new markets and customers, while gaining market share in the industry. Not only is COPPERWORKS operationally and commercially more than doubling its volume, but it also reports a solid backlog of orders and projects. “Like us, many of our customers are adding equipment to their facilities to increase production in 2021, which in turn has meant more volume for us,” Breischaft said.
A team effort by COPPERWORKS saw the new furnace commissioned in less than a year.
COPPERWORKS’s rod casting line can now run hot metal in the mold 24/7.
With the new furnace, COPPERWORKS is now able to manufacture Elemental (ETP) copper rod.
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