About AK Steel Corp.
AK Steel is a world leader in the production of flat-rolled carbon, stainless and electrical steel products, primarily for automotive, infrastructure and manufacturing, construction and electrical power generation and distribution markets. The company employs approximately 8,000 men and women at eight steel plants, two coke plants and two tube manufacturing plants across six states: Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. AK Steel is Butler County’s third-largest employer is Butler County’s third-largest employer with a total of 2,400 full-time employees at its Middletown Works steel plant and corporate headquarters in West Chester Twp.
Source: AK Steel Corp.
AK Steel Corp.’s research history
In 1910, AK Steel’s predecessor company, Armco, Inc., established the first facility in the steel industry devoted entirely to research, and the company has been on the leading edge of steel technology and innovation ever since.
According to AK Steel, many of its products and processes developed by the company throughout its history include pioneering the world’s first continuous hot rolling sheet mill in the 1920’s. The company’s research also led to the development of various types of electrical steels used in power transmission and distribution equipment. In the 1990s, the company helped revolutionize the automotive exhaust market with the introduction of specific types of aluminized stainless steels.
In recent years, AK Steel introduced ULTRALUME®, an advanced high strength steel designed to improve safety and light weighting of structural components in vehicles. In 2014, CHROMESHIELD® 22, a new nickel-free stainless steel with enhanced benefits and stable pricing for customers in the automotive and food service markets was introduced.
The current Research and and Technical Services center at 705 Curtis St. was dedicated on Nov. 5, 1937, and in 1961, the building was more than doubled in area.
AK said the current building has served the company well for many years and has been an outstanding research facility with an extensive array of equipment. However, the new Research and Innovation Center will help AK achieve its mission of serving its customers better than any other steelmaker. The company said the new center is being specifically designed to meet AK’s customer needs today and for the future, and supports its efforts to: provide advanced technical support to our valued customers; continually improve our existing product offerings; and, develop new and innovative steel products for a number of AK’s markets.
Once the new research center opens, it will replace the company’s current and only research facility at 705 Curtis St. At that time, AK’s entire research function will vacate that building when the new building is available. The company hopes the Curtis Street building will continue to be utilized and will be working to find an occupant. As of Tuesday, AK said it is too early to tell exactly what will happen to that building.
Source: AK Steel Corp.
AK Steel Corp. considered many factors before deciding to locate its $36 million research and innovation center in the city where the company was founded more than a century ago. And in the end, company officials say remaining in Middletown was the best choice to address the steelmaker’s needs for the 21st century and beyond.
In 1910, AK Steel’s predecessor company, Armco, Inc., established the first facility in the steel industry devoted entirely to research, and the company has been on the leading edge of steel technology and innovation ever since.
According to AK Steel, many of its products and processes developed by the company throughout its history include pioneering the world’s first continuous hot rolling sheet mill in the 1920’s. The company’s research also led to the development of various types of electrical steels used in power transmission and distribution equipment. In the 1990s, the company helped revolutionize the automotive exhaust market with the introduction of specific types of aluminized stainless steels.
In recent years, AK Steel introduced an Advanced High Strength Steel designed to improve safety and light weighting of structural components in vehicles. In 2014, a new nickel-free stainless steel with enhanced benefits and stable pricing for customers in the automotive and food service markets was introduced.
Barry Racey, AK Steel’s director of government and public relations, said the current Research and and Technical Services center at 705 Curtis St. was dedicated on Nov. 5, 1937, and in 1961, the building was more than doubled in area.
He said the current building has served the company well for many years and has been an outstanding research facility with an extensive array of equipment. However, Racey said the new Research and Innovation Center will help AK achieve its mission of serving its customers better than any other steelmaker by providing advanced technical support, continually improving the company’s existing product offerings, and developing new and innovative steel products for a number of markets.
Once the new research center opens, it will replace the company’s existing and only research facility on Curtis Street. Racey said AK’s entire research function will vacate that building when the new building is available. He said the company hopes the Curtis Street building will continue to be utilized and will be working to find an occupant.
Racey said strong proposals were considered from a number of locations, including several in other states and that they are “very pleased that Middletown - where our company was founded more than 100 years ago - emerged as the clear best option for this investment in AK Steel’s future.”
Racey said there were many factors that were considered and evaluated during its selection process including proximity to AK Steel’s manufacturing facilities, general business climate, and incentives. However, he declined to provide any details on the other locations that were considered and said the company preferred not to discuss the planning process for the new project.
“We believe that the (Middletown) site is excellent for our needs - it is conveniently located near Interstate 75, in the Cincinnati-Dayton growth corridor,” he said. “It is near our largest manufacturing plant, which is a real plus because our researchers and operations people work hand-in-hand on many projects.”
Racey said the new facility is also in great proximity to AK’s other plants, including the company’s most recent acquisition, Dearborn Works, located near Detroit, and is only 15 miles north of AK’s corporate headquarters in West Chester Township.
A world leader in the production of flat-rolled carbon, stainless and electrical steel products, AK Steel is Butler County’s third-largest employer with a total of 2,400 full-time employees at its Middletown Works steel plant and corporate headquarters in West Chester Twp.
The 120,000 square-foot state of the art facility will be located on a 15-acre site in the city’s Renaissance district fronting I-75 west of Union Road and north of the Atrium Medical Center campus. Pending final state and local government approvals, the company said a groundbreaking for the new center is planned for late spring or early summer.
In its announcement Monday, AK said 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, according to the company.
Racey said the new facility offers an excellent location and work environment for AK Steel to attract new talented researchers, scientists and engineers in the future. Another plus is that many of the company’s talented researchers, scientists and engineers already live in the Middletown area, he said.
The approximately 75 researchers, scientists, and engineers who currently work at AK’s existing research center at 705 Curtis St., will transfer to the new building, he said. The company expects to add about 15 new full-time research positions by the end of 2018. City officials said AK Steel has not made a decision on the future of the Curtis Street facility after the new center opens.
“Finally, we have been very appreciative of the enthusiastic support that local, regional and state government officials and economic development agencies have given to us during the site selection process,” Racey said. “Certainly, the various incentives available for this project were also an important factor.”
Racey said Tuesday that AK is working to finalize the incentives with the city of Middletown, the Warren County Port Authority and state of Ohio. He said the company anticipates they will include various real estate, sales tax, and research and development incentives, but could not discuss the details at this time, pending approval of the incentives by the state and local governments.
Denise Hamet, city economic development director, said various incentives are being negotiated and need to proceed through the appropriate channels.
City officials see the new center as a signature corporate presence within Middletown’s Renaissance District and anchoring the district’s research and technology campus as it will built along I-75, one of the most traveled roads in the nation’s interstate system. Mayor Larry Mulligan Jr. said he expects project to draw state and national attention to show that Middletown has great opportunities for growth and expansion.
City Manager Doug Adkins called the new center, “a home run for the city,” and expects it to be an anchor to spur development on the East End.
“This is the perfect project to boost East End development since the economic recession of 2008,” Rick Pearce, president/CEO of The Chamber Serving Middletown, Monroe and Trenton. “We are very excited that AK has chosen Middletown for the new location for their Research & Innovation Center. This may just may be the catalyst that is needed for other investors/developers to spark other projects on both sides of the interstate.”
AK Steel Holding Corp.’s stock price rose more than 4 percent in trading Tuesday to close at $4.50 per share, compared to a closing price per share of common stock Monday of $4.32.
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