India’s leading steel company, JSW Steel, recently proposed to invest $500 million to acquire, enhance and upgrade Acero Junction, Inc., a previously operated integrated steel manufacturing company in the APEG region.
According to the release, the initial $250 million investment includes the cost of acquisition, revamping and restarting the electric arc furnace and slab caster and modernizing the hot strip mill.
The second $250 million will go toward adding another electric arc furnace and additional manufacturing equipment at the hot strip mill to make the facility a fully integrated unit with 3MTPA capacity, if economic viability and prevailing wage conditions are favorable. An additional 280 new jobs are projected.
APEG’s involvement with the restart of the Mingo Junction steel mill began in 2014 when Ed Looman, APEG Project Manager for eight of the region’s easternmost counties, first met with officials from Acero Junction. Acero, an Indian company supported by ACCIL, an Indian steel maker, purchased the former mill from Frontier Industrial and planned to reopen the hot mill and the electric arc furnace.
Working with JobsOhio, APEG provided several incentive offers to Acero, which created 120 new steel coil-rolling jobs in the Ohio Valley (where 25,000 steel workers were once employed). Acero accepted the offer but the incentives were never executed due to Acero failing to meet contractual obligations.
Earlier this year, JSW Steel announced it was purchasing Acero Junction and a few months after that sale closed, this announcement was made about the future of the mill. JobsOhio and APEG worked on a very aggressive incentive offer to support the project. Ed Looman, along with Evan Scurti of the Jefferson County Port Authority, stuck with it over the long haul. “This announcement brings a positive end to a project that APEG has been working on for nearly four years. The project took numerous twists and turns, ups and downs. The end result, however, is a major victory for our region and that makes the process extremely worthwhile,” said Looman.
Kristi Tanner, senior managing director for JobsOhio, said the planned investment in Acero “will bring cutting-edge technology that will revitalize the facility and bring good-paying jobs to the community.”
About JSW Steel:JSW Steel is a part of the diversified US$ 13 billion JSW Group, which has a presence in Steel, Energy, Infrastructure, Cement, Ventures and Sports. JSW Steel is a leading integrated steel company in India with an installed steel-making capacity of 18 MTPA. JSW Steel (USA) Inc is a subsidiary of JSW Steel Ltd.
Read the official press release.
Other JSW news links:
- https://businessjournaldaily.com/jsw-steel-invest-500m-acero-junction/
- https://www.livemint.com/Companies/0DvGa3HrfAhsZu8uX83azJ/JSW-Steel-plans-to-invest-250-million-to-upgrade-Ohio-facil.html
- https://www.wtrf.com/community/jsw-steel-usa-president-ceo-talks-mingo-junction-investment/1274530358
- https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/companies/jsw-steel-acquires-ohio-based-steel-mill-for-81-million/article23381335.ece
- https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/steel-maker-jsw-to-build-new-plant-invest-500m-after-trump-tariffs
- http://www.dispatch.com/business/20180621/indian-company-proposes-500-million-investment-at-ohio-steel-plant
