Steel Manufacturer, Gerdau, plans to add production plant in West Knox County, Tennessee. The additional facility in WestBridge Business Park will take steel rebar manufactured at the current Lonsdale mill and apply finishing services for original equipment manufacturers. The facility will have a capacity of about 120,000 tons of finished steel per year. The firm said the expansion represents a multi-million investment, creating approximately 40 new jobs.

“Gerdau’s expansion highlights how Tennessee’s ideal location, low cost of doing business and high quality work force create the ideal environment for manufacturers to locate and expand,” Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bill Hagerty. “Gerdau’s confidence in Tennessee speaks highly of our business-friendly climate, and I appreciate their commitment to continued growth in Knoxville.”

Establishing this service line created the need to expand and add the new workers and equipment. “The assistance we have received from everyone at the state and county levels has been fantastic. We’re fortunate that the stars seem to have aligned,” Gerdau Vice President and General Manager Brice Wager said. “It would have been lost business if we had not been successful in this expansion, these new jobs would have been added in another state.”

“I’m honored that Gerdau has chosen expand their operations in Knox County’s WestBridge Business Park,” Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett said. “It’s good to see a vacant building put back to industrial use by one of our strong existing industries.”