Severstal North America Inc. has signed a letter of intent to sell its Allenport, Washington County, plant to a California-based company that wants to reopen the plant this fall. Severstal expects to complete the deal in August with North American Trading Co. of Chino Hills, California, which is owned by William R Kingston. Kingston wants to reopen the plant to produce a cold rolled steel that will be clad with a thin coat of stainless steel. Most of the steel — about 75%– would be shipped downriver to New Orleans and sold to overseas markets. The plant would need about USD 400 million in upgrades to reach full production, which would be done in phases over about five years.