Consultants Forum Advertise
Subscribe
Close

  • Free for qualified executives and consultants to industry

  • Receive quarterly issues of Area Development Magazine and special market report and directory issues

Subscribe Now
Renew

Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Cleveland-Cliffs Plans Weirton, West Virginia, Operations

07/26/2024
American steel manufacturer Cleveland-Cliffs plans to reopen operations in Weirton, West Virginia. The $150 million project is expected to create 600 jobs in Brooke and Hancock counties.

The company will repurpose its existing tin facility, which shut down in February, to produce steel for electric grid transformers. Production is scheduled to begin in early 2026.

“Distribution transformers are critical to the maintenance, expansion, and decarbonization of America’s electric grid,” Lourenco Goncalves, Cleveland-Cliffs Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer said. “These transformers are in short supply, and that shortage stifles economic growth across the country. Our vision for Weirton is to develop a center of excellence for transformer manufacturing that will provide good-paying, middle-class jobs to skilled Steelworkers and service our country’s electrical infrastructure needs. The former Weirton site offers significant growth opportunity, with the needed infrastructure and a world-class, highly-trained workforce ready to be deployed. We thank Governor Justice for helping to advance this critical project and the Governor’s West Virginia Department of Economic Development for extending a forgivable loan of $50 million in support of our investment. I would also like to express appreciation to our Weirton host community and numerous elected officials from the region for their ongoing support of Cleveland-Cliffs.”

To support the project the company received a $50 million forgivable loan from the West Virginia Department of Economic Development.

"Today is a monumental day for Weirton and the Northern Panhandle. We were never going to sit on the sidelines and watch these jobs disappear,” noted Governor Jim Justice. “After we announced the closure of the facility in February, we immediately mobilized an Economic Development Task Force and a Workforce WV Quick Response Team to support those affected. Now, just a few months later, we've forged a new deal that positions West Virginia at the forefront of strengthening our nation's grid. I extend my deepest appreciation to Lourenco Goncalves and the entire Cleveland-Cliffs team for ensuring the continuation of this operation, which will bring 600 jobs back to the area. We turned a really tough situation into a great outcome, and I'm proud to say this is how we do things in West Virginia.”

Cleveland-Cliffs specialize in the mining, beneficiation, and pelletizing of iron ore, as well as steelmaking, including stamping and tooling.

Exclusive Research