SINTON, Texas — A major hiring event in Sinton is set for this weekend.
Steel Dynamics, Inc.'s Senior Vice President of Special Projects Glenn Pushis said the $1.9 billion steel mill in San Patricio County is set to begin operations by June 2021, and hopes to hire anywhere from 300 to 350 employees.
The Open Application Day is 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, and from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday at the Sinton Community Center at 1300 E. Sinton St.
A comprehensive list of what jobs Steel Dynamics will be hiring for include jobs in fields such as:
- Engineering
- Operations
- Metallurgy
- Electrical Engineering
- Maintenance
- Construction
- Manufacturing
- Shipping
- Administration
- Sales
“We really want to get our operations folks onboard," Pushis said. "We use our employees to help build the facility and install the equipment. Therefore they know more about it than most people from the outside."
Steel Dynamics currently has a group of 70 employees at the Sinton location who will be instructing new hirees, Pushis said.
"That’ll be the core group in . . . the company culture and actually teaching them how to make steel," he said. "Being a steel company in the United States, we have six other steel-making facilities."
Pushis said some of the crews hired will be sent out to their sister plant in Columbus, Mississippi for on-the-job training.
While many of the technical jobs, such as engineering and maintenance, require a four-year degree or equivalent experience, Pushis said many with a high school degree or GED will be considered for other jobs that include production work.
Hey! Your neighborhood #SteelDynamics reporter here. Here’s the booklet I mention in my story today if you want to give it a read. @KRIS6News pic.twitter.com/fyqP2pusDF
— Trevier Gonzalez (@Sevenrevier) August 14, 2020
Pushis said the steel-making industry is different for South Texas, and that could be a good thing.
“Many of the jobs down here are petrochemical, so the people travel around for that," he said. "Steel Dynamics is more stable in the community. We’ve never had a layoff in over our 25 years of existence on our steel side."
Steel Dynamics anticipates they will begin production in June 2021. By then, they expect to be close to 650 total employees.
Pushis said once the plant is staffed, the company hopes to work with different area colleges on programs geared to steel-mill work, though no official agreements have been made.
