This steelmaking plant was originally part of the Ford Motor Company, which created an integrated manufacturing complex to produce all major vehicle components at one large facility called The Rouge.
The steel mill operations occupy most of the portion of the Rouge Complex south of Road 4, which connects Gates 4 and 10.
Per the Detroit Free Press article of July 14, 2011, Severstal Dearborn will be installing a new annealing line in the "W" section of their existing cold mill.
On 21 July 2014, AK Steel Holding announced that it had agreed to purchase Severstal's Dearborn steel-making assets for $700 million cash.
The acquisition would also include a coke-making facility and interests in three joint ventures that process flat-rolled steel products.
[1] Severstal also announced at that time that it would sell a separate steel-making facility in Columbus, Mississippi to Steel Dynamics for $1.63 billion.
The recently modernized slab reheat furnaces optimize Severstal Dearborn's heating efficiency and quality, reduce natural gas consumption and increase yield.
As of April 2011, work has begun on preparing the "W" section of the existing cold mill for the eventual installation of the continuous annealing line.