Republic Steel says greater demand for its special bar quality steel drove the need for the arc furnace. Company spokesman Mark Huemme says the heavy automotive and energy markets will be served by the increased output, while the local community will see more employment opportunities.
"The expansion should amount to about 1.2 million tons annually of liquid steel," says Huemme. "We have currently about 490 jobs at the Lorain facility, so this is going to be a significant expansion of about 450 new jobs, in addition to the folks who are already employed there."
This week's groundbreaking means construction is now underway on the arc furnace, with its first batch of steel expected to roll out in spring of 2013. The project is expected to cost the company $87 million, and generate more than $1 billion in annual economic activity in the state.