Despite the dreary economic conditions, ThyssenKrupp says its plans to build a new flat rolled steel manufacturing facility in Calvert, Alabama have not been delayed.
Alabama Governor Bob Riley, joined by ThyssenKrupp officials, told press Thursday that there are currently 2,000 construction workers at the facility, and that the company plans to hire up to 10,000 by the end of the year to finish construction of the steel mill. The $4 billion facility, located about 30 miles north of Mobile, Alabama, is expected to open in about a year, and the company is planning to hire 2,700 employees to run it.
Duesseldorf, Germany-based ThyssenKrupp earlier said it would delay the start of stainless steel production at the Calvert mill due to the global slump. However, it has no plans to delay the construction of the mill or its carbon steel production at the facility.
The first slabs for steel production at the plant are expected to arrive from Brazil to the new loading dock currently under construction in the harbor of Mobile by the first quarter of 2010, say Thyssen officials. Once completed, the mill will have a capacity of five million tons per year.