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Q: What did your project consist of?
A: ThyssenKrupp Steel USA built a new state-of-the-art multi-billion dollar carbon steel processing facility in north Mobile County, Alabama to serve the NAFTA, and particularly, the North Amercian steel market. The facility began the first of its operations in July 2010. When fully operational in 2011, the facility will employ 1,800 Team Members and have an estimated annual capacity of 4.3 million metric tons of end product.
Q: Did the orginally announced scope or schedule of your project change due to the current state of the global economy?
A: While the current state of the economy has given us additional challenges, there were no changes to our original scope, investment, construction or hiring schedules. We remain confident in the long-term success of our project and market growth for premium carbon steel products in the NAFTA region.
Q: Where will your steel slabs be coming from?
A: Our raw steel slabs are shipped from ThyssenKrupp CSA, ThyssenKrupp’s new $6.5 billion manufacturing facility now in operation in Brazil. The Brazilian facility has the capacity of five million metric tons of slabs per year. The high-quality slabs from Brazil are transoaded from ships onto barges at a new $120 million State of Alabama steel terminal located on Pinto Island at the mouth of the Tombigbee River for delivery to our up-river facility.
Q: Where will you market your products?
A: Our products will be marketed in NAFTA and particularly in the United States. This continent is a big volume market for high quality flat carbon steel. ThyssenKrupp’s largest market outside Europe is the United States. Here, ThyssenKrupp Steel USA’s products will be used by the automotive and construction industries, service centers, pipe and tube industry as well as the appliance/HVAC industry.
Q: Why did ThyssenKrupp Steel decide to build a new facility in the United States?
A: ThyssenKrupp has a long history of partnership with the United States dating back to 1837 and recognizes the importance of the U.S. marketplace. North America is a future source of growth for high-value steel products, and we have established a goal of increasing our business in this important market.
Q: Are you still hiring?
A: Yes. ThyssenKrupp Steel USA is continuing to hire and is aggressively recruiting both salaried and hourly positions in almost all areas. Applications are only accepted online and job information may be found under the career tab of this website.
Q: What affect did your project having on the local and state economy?
A: ThyssenKrupp Steel USA issued contracts totaling over $1.5 billion with companies in Alabama, Mississippi, Florida and other southeastern states during the construction phase of our project. Of this amount, we issued contracts in excess of $750 million in our home state of Alabama. We are continuing to hire our Team which will eventually number 1,800. We also indirectly employed thousands through contractors and vendors during the construction phase as well. This additional investment in the American, and more specifically, the Alabama economy, is especially beneficial given current economic and employment conditions.
Q: Why did ThyssenKrupp choose the location in Calvert, Alabama to build its facility?
A: ThyssenKrupp recognized that a number of high quality steel consumers have a heavy presence in the southestern U.S., such as the construction, automotive, pipe and tube and service center industries. A site in the southeast would also provide logistics benefits in regards to raw material from Brazil. After a long and deliberative process that studied sites and proposals from a number of southeastern states, ThyssenKrupp chose a ready-to-build site in Calvert, Alabama because of its access via river to the Port of Mobile, competitive energy rates, access to a qualified workforce, Alabama's positive business environment, and professional state, local and federal public leadership.
