US Steel to invest in Gary, Indiana, works

Pittsburgh-based United States Steel Corp. (U.S. Steel) is preparing to make some $750 million worth of investments to its steelmaking complex in Gary, Indiana.

U.S. Steel hosted Indiana Gov. Eric J. Holcomb, Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson and other elected officials to its Gary Works facility in mid-August to announce the capital investment of “a minimum of $750 million” in the plant. The steel producer says the investment is part of its $2 billion asset revitalization program.

“We are pleased to be making this significant investment at Gary Works, which will improve the facility’s environmental performance, bolster our competitiveness and benefit the local community for years to come,” says David B. Burritt, U.S. Steel’s president and CEO. “Through the skill and determination of our employees, support from the state and city, without which this project would not be possible, and favorable trade policies with the strong Section 232 national security action on steel imports, we are experiencing a renaissance at U. S. Steel.”

The spending will take place over the course of five years and will involve building expansions and improvement, including the installation of production equipment, machinery, and modernizing technology to serve customers in the automotive, energy, industrial, metal building components, home construction, appliance and container industries.

On its website, U.S. Steel describes its Gary Works as having raw steelmaking capacity of 7.5 million tons per year and as having downstream capabilities that include making sheet products, strip mill plate in coils and tin products for packaging applications.

U.S. Steel further describes the Gary Works complex as its largest manufacturing plant and the largest integrated steel mill in North America. It has been in operation in Northwest Indiana since 1908 and employs some 3,800 people.

Subject to the approval of the Indiana Economic Development Corp. (IEDC)  board of directors, the IEDC will offer U. S. Steel up to $10 million in conditional tax credits over a 10-year period based on the company’s commitment to retain 3,875 jobs. The IEDC also says it offer up to $2 million in Skills Enhancement Fund (SEF) training grants to support workforce development and training for Gary Works employees.

Additionally, the city of Gary will offer tax increment financing valued at approximately $35 million over 25 years based on a $750 million investment that will then be ameliorated through a development agreement in partnership with U. S. Steel to allow the city, the Gary Community School Corp., the Gary Public Library and U. S. Steel to “share the benefit of the company’s investment.”