Thursday, May 31, 2007
CHAMPION — It’s not the Copperweld Steel of old, but the start of Warren Steel Holdings LLC on the former Copperweld site represents a significant investment and a hopeful sign for the once-bustling mill, one local official said.
Reid Dulberger, executive vice president of the Regional Chamber, said the amount of work that has taken place at the Mahoning Avenue facility in the past year has been remarkable. The land is in Warren Township.
A great deal of investment took place to get the melt shop and never-used continuous steel caster into operating shape, following closure of the mill in 2001 after Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Dulberger said.
Not only did a great deal of the machinery need to be refurbished, but much of the wiring inside the plant had to be replaced because it had been removed by thieves, who sold its copper, he said.
“I think we all believed that site would be vacant and the community would be left with another brownfield site to deal with,” Dulberger said of 2001, when the Privat Group of the Ukraine bought the facilities and 400 acres. “At the time of the auction, it appeared there would never be steel made there again,” he said.
For the complete story, see Friday's Vindicator and Vindy.com.