The sudden death of steel-mill developer John Correnti Tuesday in Chicago, was a stunning bit of news throughout the industry, including here in Lowndes County.
Correnti, 68, may have left Lowndes County more than two years ago under less than ideal circumstances, but his legacy here is irrefutable. In the wake of Steel Dynamics’ recently-completed $100-million expansion at its facility at the Lowndes County Industrial Park, Correnti’s role in bringing the plant to the county cannot be forgotten.
The $650 million plant, which began operations in 2007 as SeverCorr, brought a new industry to an area where economic development had been little more than a hope and a prayer. In the years that followed, the county has seen a flurry of new industries arrive, and there is a reasonable expectation more are to come.
But Correnti’s steel mill will always be a defining moment for the area.
While it might be overstating the case to say the industrial development we see today would never had arrived without the arrival of Correnti’s steel mill, there is no question the mill was an enormous boost to the community’s psyche and perceptions of the area.
SeverCorr served as a compelling calling card for LINK CEO Joe Max Higgins when recruiting new industry. Today, Lowndes County and the Golden Triangle are the envy of every other regional development organization in the region. Correnti’s steel mill was the ball that got that trend rolling.
“I didn’t always agree with the way John did things, but the results speak for themselves,” Higgins said this morning. “The people of Lowndes County owe him a huge debt of gratitude. Right now, that steel mill he built is a $1.61 billion operation. You can’t over-estimate his impact, just from that plant alone.”
Correnti sold the steel mill to a Russian company, which renamed it Severstal. In 2014, Severstal was sold to Indiana-based Steel Dynamics, Inc. The company is in the process of an expansion that will allow it to diversify its customer base.
In less than two months, Yokohama Tire Company will begin Phase 1 production with 500 workers at its new West Point facility, which is expected to ultimately produce 2,000 jobs as part of a $1.2 billion investment when it completes its four-phase project in 2023.
While it is difficult to assess how much of an impact the presence of Correnti’s steel mill had on deals such as the one that led to Yokohama’s arrival, the mill was tangible evidence that big industry could thrive here.
Not all of Correnti’s efforts here bore fruit, however. Financing issues spelled the doom of Correnti’s plans for a re-bar plant known as Project Green. Two-and-a-half years ago, an even more ambitious project, the $960 million Silicor plant and its almost 1,000 jobs, also fell through because of insufficient financing. The collapse of such a big project was a painful blow.
The demise of Silicor marked Correnti’s departure from the Golden Triangle, but at the time of his death, he had other projects in the works, including $1.3 billion steel plant in Osceola, Arkansas, as well as a scaled-down $200 million version of Silicor currently under construction in Tishomingo County.
Obviously, Correnti’s track record here was not perfect and the failure of Silicor may have tarnished his image, but there is no question of his lasting contribution to the Golden Triangle.
Correnti died Tuesday, but his legacy here is tangible, visible, and it will be for years to come.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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