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SeverCorr's operational status celebrated |
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Wednesday, 24 October 2007 |
 Paul Sims/SDN By PAUL SIMS
Starkville Daily News
LOWNDES COUNTY — A little more than two years ago, the prairie ground just east of Golden Triangle Regional Airport sat largely empty.
Today, a start up steel mini mill known as SeverCorr is making rolled steel from scrap for a variety of applications — including the automotive industry — and officials are developing plans for a $500 million expansion to add as many as 150 employees to the projected initial hire of 450 employees.
The company currently stands at around 360 in employment.
The expansion would more than double the plant’s production capacity of 1.7 million tons of steel a year.
While noting the future plans, officials took time Tuesday to note what has been accomplished to date.
“We’re operational, we’re melting, we’re casting and we’re rolling out steel,” said SeverCorr CEO John Correnti.
Barbour said the state is enjoying record employment and companies are bringing in jobs that replace low-skill, low-pay jobs with high-skill, high-paying jobs.
“SeverCorr is a perfect example of that,” Barbour said.
The average pay for SeverCorr’s employees is $88,000, the governor said.
“This plant is loaded with the highest technology ... the most modern mill of its kind in North America, if not the world,” Barbour said.
“This is a great thing for the Golden Triangle. I look forward to seeing to what happens in the future. ... This is going to be a great ride,” the governor said.
Correnti thanked the project’s financial backers along with elected officials at the local, state and federal levels and many other people who played a role in getting the plant to this point.
“I can tell you that this operation is both of one-of-a-kind and world-class. We are excited to be pa part of its development. America is a very important focus for SeverStal — we are confident about its growth prospects and have high expectations for SeverCorr,” said Alexey Mordashov, CEO of SeverStal, a partner with and shareholder of SeverCorr, in a statement. |
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 25 October 2007 )
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