AK Steel shows students what manufacturing careers have to offer

The steelmaker, headquartered in West Chester Twp., operates the largest of its eight steel plants in Middletown. About 2,400 full-time employees work at AK Steel locations in Butler County, according to the company.

AK Steel joined manufacturers across the country Friday to show the public around their facilities. Hopes are to spark interest in the career field, which is concerned about a shortage of engineers, welders, machinists and other skilled laborers to fill job openings.

“So many times you can see a big factory, what you think is a factory, and they don’t recognize the science, they don’t recognize the engineering, they don’t recognize the world scope that happens right here within Middletown to be able to know that the products that are produced… is being used every day all around them,” said Eric Petersen, vice president of research and innovation for AK Steel.

“It’s great for them to be able to see the impact their community has on the world and to be able to see how our opportunity to learn these fields of science matters,” Petersen said.

Middletown’s largest employer is hiring for production workers at the mill, and engineers at the research center, according to the company.

Meanwhile, construction has started on a new $36 million Research and Innovation Center off Union Road in Middletown for the development of new advanced, high-strength metals, according to the company.

Currently, about 76 researchers, scientists and engineers work at AK Steel’s existing research center toured by students. Those workers will transfer to the new site when it opens, and about 15 new full-time jobs will be added.

“We’re hiring. We need engineers. We need good problem solvers. We need people that love to get into the details and love to learn the stuff because we’ve got problems today that we need their expertise for in the future,” Petersen said.

The Chamber of Commerce Serving Middletown, Monroe and Trenton helped organize tours for school districts at about 13 Middletown- and Monroe-area companies on Friday, said chamber president and chief executive officer Rick Pearce.

“If kids come out of there saying, ‘I want to do this and come back and work at the new research center…’ that’s what we want. We want them to come back,” Pearce said.