OHIO AK Steel commits $65M to plant in Middletown

Despite the investment, the steel mill intends to cut jobs to reduce expenses.
MIDDLETOWN, Ohio (AP) -- Financially struggling AK Steel has decided to go ahead with a $65 million investment for new pollution controls at its Middletown mill, saving at least 1,000 jobs at the 100-year-old plant.
AK Steel chief executive James Wainscott told analysts Friday that the steelmaker's board of directors has approved of the investment, subject to tax-exempt bond financing from the state.
State officials are working to provide a package of incentives for the company.
Ed Shelley, president of the Armco Employees Independent Federation that represents hourly workers at the plant, said, "This is a positive development for the workers and community."
The investment will allow the company to meet tougher new federal environmental rules that go into effect in May 2006.
It also marks the latest sign that the company is turning around after losing more than $1 billion in the last three years. On Friday, it reported a much lower loss in the fourth quarter than a year ago.
Former CEO Richard Wardrop had said the company may have to abandon steelmaking in Middletown because of the environmental costs.
Pending lawsuit
Federal and state regulators sued the company in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati in 2000, accusing it of violating air, water and hazardous waste laws for years at the plant. The case is pending.
Eliminating steelmaking would reduce Middletown operations to coating and finishing steel slabs obtained elsewhere.
The sprawling plant employs 3,600 workers, including about 1,000 workers in basic steelmaking such as its coke plant, blast furnace and steelmaking shop.
The company is working to slash cuts and increase revenue as part of a plan to generate $200 million in operating profits this year.
AK Steel plans to eliminate 475 white-collar jobs by the end of March and it has told the union that it was suspending a contract guarantee for a minimum number of workers at the Middletown plant.
That decision, which the union is studying, will lead to fewer workers at the mill.