US based steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. announced that it hosted US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Assistant Secretary of Energy Audrey Robertson, and Under Secretary of Commerce William Kimmitt at its Butler Works facility in Pennsylvania on October 6, to showcase its previously announced grain oriented electrical steel (GOES) expansion project.
The visit highlighted the company's $200 million investment in Butler Works, which is supported by a $75 million award from the US Department of Energy (DOE). The company said the project will improve steel quality, increase operating efficiency, and expand the facility's GOES production volume by up to 25 percent. The GOES production is needed as demand for transformers rises with utility investment in grid modernization, power generation, and electrical infrastructure across the US.
The project includes the installation of new induction reheat furnaces manufactured in Warren, Ohio, along with other infrastructure improvements throughout the facility. According to the company, the upgrades will enable more efficient heating of steel slabs, improve product quality, reduce production losses and lower emissions from the hot rolling process. Completion is expected in early 2028.
Butler Works is the sole US producer of GOES, a material used in transformers throughout the US power system. The facility employs about 1,200 people represented by United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 3303, generates approximately $187 million in annual wages and spends more than $200 million annually on local supplies and services. The project is expected to support about 220 construction jobs at peak activity.
Lourenco Goncalves, chief executive officer of Cleveland-Cliffs said, “This investment demonstrates the importance of maintaining domestic manufacturing capabilities for materials that are essential to America's energy infrastructure."
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