DECATUR– Steel Technologies has chosen to forgo expanding plants in Tennessee and Mississippi, in favor of expanding its plant in Decatur, the company announced.
The $19.34 million, 70,000-square-foot expansion will accommodate a 1,500-ton blanking press. The Mallard Fox Drive plant will also be the largest of the Louisville-based company’s 30 factories. The expansion will add 50 employees with an average annual salary of around $45,500 within three years.
“Decatur, Alabama, is our choice,” Executive Vice President of Operations Randall Patterson told the Decatur Industrial Development Board last month. “The Decatur win can lead to more projects coming to the city in the near future.”
Jeremy Nails, president and CEO of the Morgan County Economic Development Association, said of the 10 steel companies in Decatur, the Steel Technologies plant is the one that produces steel. The other nine “take steel and make it into some kind of product.”
“Steel Technologies is growing its portfolio,” Nails said. “The company is making a major investment in the Decatur plant after over 20 years of not adding anything to the facility.
“This major expansion will mean more tax dollars and jobs that create money for the community and the schools.”
The project is expected to create $781,500 in new property tax revenue over a 10-year period that will benefit Decatur, Hartselle and Morgan County schools.
The company also expects to generate $84,850 in Morgan County sales and use taxes during the capital investment period that will benefit the three local school systems, and another $84,850 that will benefit Decatur City Schools.
Blanking presses facilitate the economical production of precision parts and this one will make items for water heaters, appliances, air conditioner systems and automobiles.
Construction began in May with completion expected by May 31, 2023.
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