This is great news for Weirton, West Virginia, as it will allow 600 people to return to their union jobs, and it will also help alleviate a national shortage of transformers.
Steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs announced plans Monday to revitalize a shuttered steel mill in West Virginia. State-of-the-art facility for manufacturing distribution transformersIt will address critical infrastructure deficits and create hundreds of union jobs.
Cleveland Cliffs The tinworks was closed down. Earlier this year in Weirton, after the International Trade Commission (ITC) refused to impose tariffs on imports from the four countries despite Commerce Department findings that those countries were engaging in dumping and subsidizing, Cleveland-Cliffs Chairman, President and CEO Lourençalves said the ITC’s decision was “a travesty for America, for middle-class jobs and for our critical food supply chain.” Said at that time.
But now, that same factory is being given new life.
“We closed the plant, but we didn’t abandon our employees,” Gonsalves said at a news conference announcing the new facility. “They were our catalyst, and we started thinking, ‘How do we re-employ those employees in a smart way and do something meaningful not just for Weirton, but for the state of West Virginia and the United States of America?’ And the opportunity was right in front of us.”
the current, Huge shortage of distribution transformersare a vital part of our energy infrastructure. Transformers manage the flow of electricity by converting high-voltage electricity from power lines into low-voltage electricity to power our homes and businesses. But power companies I’m having trouble getting a transformer.Lead times will be up to two years (increasing fourfold from 2022 onwards) and prices will soar.
“The transformers are not available today. To be honest, the delays have been going on for years and we have to turn to China and all these other countries. That’s just not normal in America,” West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice said at a press conference Monday. “But really, what you’re planning to build and what you’re going to do is not only great for Weirton and your 600 residents and all the businesses, it’s incredible for the country.”
Cleveland-Cliffs is investing $150 million to repurpose the facility to make transformers and bring back 600 United Steelworkers workers who previously worked at the tinplate plant. The company expects the new plant to be up and running by early 2026.
In his speech, Gonsalves praised USW leadership for helping to reopen the plant, noting that “this wouldn’t have been possible without my cooperation in West Virginia,” and with Mark Glyptis, president of USW Local 2911. Glyptis was unable to attend the news conference due to illness, but fellow USW leader Mike Vitello read the speech in his place.
“The government’s failure to protect Weirton’s ability to continue producing tin led to the shutdown of the Weirton mill and the loss of nearly 1,000 good paying jobs with benefits. Cleveland-Cliffs and Lourenco have never abandoned their workers, their families or the community of Weirton,” Vitello said.
“We are excited about this new opportunity to produce much-needed transformers that are critical to our nation’s economy and energy efficiency,” Vitello later continued. “We are pleased to be producing American-made transformers by American workers, and we look forward to the challenge of making this new venture a success.”
Justice recalled how after the tinplate plant closed, Gonsalves worked hard with West Virginia officials to find a way to reuse the plant and bring employees back to work — a dedication to employees rare in corporate America.
“Too many American companies just move on and that’s it,” he said. “I can’t tell you the countless conversations we had, and it was something that really, truly bothered this man.”
Justice wasn’t the only lawmaker speaking on Monday. West Virginia Sens. Joe Manchin (Independent) and Shelley Moore Capito (R) and Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) also sent representatives to the press conference. Several state lawmakers and officials also attended.
in Written statementManchin called Monday’s announcement “incredible news.”
“Distribution transformers are a vital component of our nation’s electric grid, and this project is a tremendous opportunity to reemploy hardworking West Virginians who lost their jobs earlier this year while positioning our state as a global leader in their production,” Manchin said. “I want to thank everyone who worked tirelessly to find a solution for this site, and I’m pleased that West Virginia will continue to play a key role in energy and manufacturing.”
Brown said, press release He worked with the Department of Energy to defeat proposed regulations that would have required transformers to transition from industry-standard grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES) to amorphous cores, which would have “made it impossible to invest in American transformer manufacturing with American steel.”
“Thanks to our work to correct the Department of Energy’s flawed transformer rule, we are bringing new industry and jobs to the Ohio Valley,” Brown said. “The government has let down skilled and dedicated steelworkers by failing to enforce our trade laws, but we have never given up on our efforts to bring steel jobs back to this mill. I will always fight for Ohio workers and the Ohio Valley, and I will always stand up against the government’s misguided policies that hurt workers and manufacturers.”
In fact, Cleveland Cliffs I got it. The new transformer plant in Weirton will likely increase demand for GOES, which the company manufactures at its facility near Butler, Pa. Cleveland-Cliffs also plans to make stainless steel and carbon steel for transformers at plants in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and other states.
Gonsalves predicted demand for transformers will likely increase in the coming years, pointing to emerging fields that require large amounts of power, such as artificial intelligence, and Cleveland-Cliffs plans to continue meeting market demand.
“This is our first factory and it won’t be our last,” he said.
Cleveland-Cliffs isn’t the only American steel company to open a new facility. U.S. Steel recently Announced $150 million investment The company will manufacture direct reduced (DR) grade pellets in Minnesota.
You can watch Monday’s Cleveland-Cliffs press conference below. Youtube Or less.
