British billionaire Sanjeev Gupta says willing governments and a committed community in Whyalla were the key ingredients to prompt his successful takeover of troubled steel producer Arrium.
Mr Gupta officially took control of the steelworks and its associated companies on Friday in a ceremony in the South Australian regional city, marked by a march through the town by the company's workforce.
The industrialist said when he first visited the Whyalla operations he saw an asset that was misunderstood and under appreciated.
"I was shocked. I saw no reason why this asset should be condemned," he told reporters.
"We also saw committed people. A committed town. People who were not willing to give up.
"Many other places would have closed down a long time ago.
"But these people did not want to give up .They were willing to make sacrifices. they were willing to stick with it."
Premier Jay Weatherill also paid tribute to the resilience of the Whyalla community and the Arrium workforce and thanked Mr Gupta for showing confidence in their abilities.
"That confidence will be repaid, through the commitment of this community, of this workforce and this state," he said.
Mr Gupta's company, GFG Alliance, will now begin a 100-day review of the business when he will act as its chief executive and he also expects to be based in Australia for the next two years.
He has reaffirmed an earlier commitment to invest up to $1 billion to upgrade and expand Whyalla's capacity.
As well as the mills, the finalised deal gives GFG Alliance control of Arrium's iron ore and mining operations, its steel recycling business, and the Tube Mills pipe manufacturing company along with port and rail infrastructure.
The group will employ about 6000 workers across the country.
It's other expansion plans include possible construction of new port facilities, further mining activity and the development of extra pumped hydro and solar power plants to lift energy production.
Mr Gupta said success at Whyalla was not going to be "automatic or easy".
But he said a key would be producing steel in Australia that could be used to cater for a growing local demand and that could also be exported to his other assets in the UK.
He also hopes Arrium can play an important role in the wider Whyalla community, making the town a place where people wanted to come and work.
The GFG Alliance takeover of Arrium ended 15-months of uncertainty after the company was placed in administration because of its inability to refinance rising debts.
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