CHARTER STEEL
Large load · 1658 COLD SPRINGS ROAD, Saukville, WI
Charter Steel's plant in Saukville, Wisconsin, is an electric arc furnace steel mill in Ozaukee County that rolls bar, rod and wire. A 2023 Ozaukee Press editorial describes a workforce of nearly 700 running massive electric furnaces, and in December 2024 the company completed a 19.5 megawatt behind-the-meter solar array on the same site. The company is a privately owned subsidiary of Charter Manufacturing Company of Mequon, Wisconsin.
Overview
The Saukville site is described by the Department of Energy's Better Plants program as a fully integrated mill that includes a melt shop, a state-of-the-art rolling mill and a processing facility, and it also houses the company's corporate offices. The Ozaukee Press editorial says the plant sprawls on the northwest side of the village, with cooling towers as high as an eight-story building that use 10,000 gallons of water per minute. It also reports that the plant processes more than 550,000 tons of steel in a year.
Profile
- On-site solar and the grid
- SunVest Solar, a Pewaukee-based developer, completed a 19.5 megawatt solar project at the Saukville facility, which BizTimes describes as the largest behind-the-meter solar installation in the state. Behind-the-meter means the energy is produced and consumed on site. Charter Steel is described as Wisconsin's largest single energy user. The Ozaukee Press editorial notes that the array of about 30,000 solar panels can produce only 8% of the plant's electricity, given how much the mill consumes, and that the solar field sits on land adjacent to the plant.
- Ownership and corporate history
- Charter Steel is a privately owned subsidiary of Charter Manufacturing Company of Mequon, Wisconsin, which also owns Charter Wire and Charter Automotive. The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History says the company was founded in Saukville, Wisconsin, in 1975 and entered the Cleveland steel market in March 2002, when it bought the American Steel and Wire plant on East 49th Street in Cuyahoga Heights from Birmingham Steel. The Saukville plant remains the home of the corporate offices.
Facility
- Activity
- Electric arc furnace steel bar, rod and wire
- Industry
- Manufacturing
- Site type
- Facility
- Operating status
- Operating
Related records
Timeline
- Aug 16, 2023
- Ozaukee Press editorial describes the Saukville mill's workforce, electric furnaces and output of more than 550,000 tons of steel a year
EDITORIAL: Clean energy meets heavy industry | Ozaukee Press
- Dec 24, 2024
- SunVest Solar completes a 19.5 MW behind-the-meter solar project at the Saukville facility
Charter Steel adds 19.5-megawatt solar installation at Saukville facility