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Alabama Subsidizes Foreign Business

Mike

Well-known member
May 11, 2007



Alabama gets ThyssenKrupp plant


Alabama’s selection as the location for a German steelmaker’s multi-billion plant hinged on lower costs to build the plant, affordable electricity, abundant labor and logistical considerations, a company spokesman said today.


ThyssenKrupp AG announced about 6 a.m. today that it will build a state-of-the-art steel and stainless steel processing facility in an industrial and residential area called Mount Vernon, which is located on the Tombigbee River in north Mobile County.

“Due to its high cost-efficiency, Mount Vernon is the ideal location,” a company statement said.

Initially planned as a $2.9 billion investment, ThyssenKrupp announced it will now invest $3.7 billion in the new plant. The increased investment primarily results from a rise in both steel and stainless steel capacity, as well as the installation of additional equipment.

Approximately 29,000 jobs will be generated during the construction phase. When it is fully operational, the plant will employ 2,700 people. Over a 20-year period, the facility is also expected to yield tens of thousands of indirect jobs.

In a statement, Bob Soulliere, president and CEO of ThyssenKrupp Steel and Stainless USA, said factors in choosing Alabama included “logistical considerations of the company’s supply chain from Brazil to our projected customers; operating costs such as electricity and labor; and site specific capital expenditures.”

In a statement Friday morning, Gov. Bob Riley said, “With this project, Alabama and ThyssenKrupp are making history. A project this size, with this amount of economic impact, comes along perhaps once in a generation. It is transformational, and we thank our partners at ThyssenKrupp, our state and local economic development team, and Alabama’s outstanding workforce for making our success possible.”

“Thanks to Governor Riley and everyone who has been part of this project, we are excited to call Alabama home today,” Peter Urban, vice chairman of the ThyssenKrupp Steel Executive Board, said. “The planned facility in Alabama is a key component of ThyssenKrupp Steel’s forward strategy for profitable growth. We are confident that the plant will position us to maximize our competitiveness in the North American market through a combination of cost and technology leadership.”

The Alabama plant would be ThyssenKrupp’s first steelmaking operation in the United States, and the largest investment in the history of ThyssenKrupp Stainless, said Michael Rademacher, vice chairman and CFO of ThyssenKrupp Stainless.

“While our direct entry to the US market is perhaps a bold step, it is also a logical and forward-looking one,” he said. “The stainless steel market throughout the NAFTA region offers significant potential, and we are now poised to further strengthen our position.”

The selection process began in February 2006 with 67 potential sites in 20 states. From the initial sites, ThyssenKrupp narrowed its choices to locations in three states -- Alabama, Arkansas and Louisiana. In February of this year, the company announced that it would build the plant in either Alabama and Louisiana.

The new facility will process carbon steel and stainless steel for high-value applications by manufacturers in the United States and throughout North America. The plant will serve industries including automotive, construction, electrical and utility, in addition to serving manufacturers of appliances, precision machinery and engineered products.

The Alabama facility will include a hot strip mill, which will be used primarily to process slabs from the ThyssenKrupp’s new steel plant in Brazil. It will also feature cold rolling and hot-dip coating capacity for high-quality end products of flat carbon steel.

The plant will have an annual capacity of 4.1 million metric tons of carbon steel end products.

In addition, a stainless steel melt shop will be built with an annual capacity of up to one million metric tons of slabs, which will be also processed on the hot strip mill. A cold rolling facility is to be built, which will be designed initially to produce 350,000 tons of cold strip and 125,000 tons of pickled hot strip.

In addition, the stainless plant will provide ThyssenKrupp Mexinox in San Luis Potosí (Mexico) with its required pre-material (340,000 metric tons of hot band).

“We look forward to a long relationship with Alabama,” Urban said. “A steel facility of this size and scope will be an integral part of the ThyssenKrupp’s overall business operations for decades to come and yield generations of good jobs. From employment opportunities to our environmental leadership and responsible social practices, we will demonstrate ThyssenKrupp’s commitment to making a positive contribution to northern Mobile and southern Washington counties,” Rademacher added.

Construction is expected to begin by the end of the year. Throughout the process, ThyssenKrupp will post updates on its Web site, www.ThyssenKruppNewUSPlant.com, about employment and vendor opportunities.

The plant — set to open in 2010 and employ as many as 2,700 workers when fully operational.

The company was lured by several tax breaks and a $400 million incentives package approved by the Alabama Legislature.
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Word has it that the total value to this german company will be well over a BILLION dollars when all is said and done.
 
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