AK Steel to build $36 million research facility

AK Steel announced Monday that it will build a new, world-class Research and Innovation Center in Middletown, Ohio.  The 120,000 square foot facility will be constructed on a 15-acre site located in the Cincinnati–Dayton growth corridor along Interstate 75.  The estimated project cost is $36 million. 

The new Research and Innovation Center will replace the company's existing research facility that is located at another site in Middletown.  AK Steel's largest steel manufacturing plant is also in Middletown, and the company's corporate headquarters is in nearby West Chester, Ohio, a northern suburb of Cincinnati.  

The new facility will be home to the company's approximately 75 researchers, scientists and engineers who will perform cutting-edge research, applications engineering, advanced engineering, product development, and customer technical services.  The facility will also house pilot lines that simulate the company's steel manufacturing operations, ranging from melting and casting, to hot- and cold-rolling, to final finishing.  The pilot lines are used for research, enhancing existing products, problem-solving in production, and experimentation for new and improved products.

AK Steel said groundbreaking for its new research and innovation center is planned for the late spring or early summer of 2015.  The project is subject to final state and local government approvals.