GULF COAST--Following years of research and months of due diligence, ThyssenKrupp AG has narrowed its search for a development site for $2.9-billion plant to manufacture and process carbon and stainless steel. The short list pits Alabama against Louisiana, pulling Arkansas from the running.
The Dusseldorf, GER-based steel and engineering company plans to build a seven-million-sf factory. It will be a joint venture between ThyssenKrupp Steel and ThyssenKrupp Stainless, also headquartered in Dusseldorf.
"ThyssenKrupp is committed to the new facility as the NAFTA market is an integral part of our overall global strategy," Juergen Fechter, chairman of the executive board of ThyssenKrupp Stainless, says in a press release about the finalist states. He adds that the North American market is anticipated to show above-average growth for high-grade flat carbon steel and stainless steel products.
A spokesman for ThyssenKrupp says the majority of the plant's customers are in the southern US, which is why the choices were narrowed to Alabama and Louisiana. This morning's release says Arkansas was eliminated based on the criteria it had been using during the lengthy site selection process.
"We'll be supplying automotive customers and the construction and electrical industry and many appliance manufacturers," the spokesman tells GlobeSt.com. "Most of them are south."
In addition, the spokesman points out that another important requirement for the plant is plenty of land, between 3,000 acres and 3,500 acres, and an effective infrastructure of highways, rail and barge capabilities. "We're setting up a plant with a total output of 5.5 million metric tons," he says. "We're building a joint carbon and stainless steel plant; two facilities on one site because of economies of scale. We'll need the room."
The spokesman says a site decision will be made shortly, with construction beginning immediately. Although design and construction teams have been chosen, confidentiality provisions prevented the release of company names.
It's estimated that the construction phase will create more than 29,000 jobs. In 2010, when the plant is fully operational, it will employ 2,700 people. By 2030, ThyssenKrupp believes an additional 38,000 to 52,000 indirect jobs will be generated.
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