On December 2, US-based steelmaker United States Steel Corporation and Japan-based steelmaker Kobe Steel Ltd announced that they have reached an agreement for their joint venture, PRO-TEC Coating Company in Leipsic, Ohio, to begin construction on a 500,000 mt continuous annealing line at the facility.
According to an official statement, the capital investment for this project is approximately $400 million and is expected to create 500 temporary construction jobs as well as 80 full-time jobs once operating. PRO-TEC has obtained financing commitments for the project subject to final documentation and other closing conditions. Completion of the project would take an estimated 24 months.
US Steel and Kobe Steel, through their joint venture in PRO-TEC, have been supplying the automotive industry with hot dip galvanized high-strength steel since 1993. With the addition of the continuous annealing line, PRO-TEC will now produce cold rolled advanced high-strength steels and ultra high-strength steels for certain automotive structural parts.
"With this investment in PRO-TEC Coating Company, both US Steel and Kobe Steel are well-positioned to serve our automotive customers. PRO-TEC is an industry leader in quality sheet steel products and we are pleased to bring another quality product to the market," said John P. Surma, chairman and chief executive officer of United States Steel Corporation.