A $90 million aluminum process facility is planning a mid-October groundbreaking near Aluminum Dynamics, Golden Triangle LINK CEO Joe Max Higgins told The Dispatch.
Kloeckner Metals, a steel service company and metal distributor, will be the first tenant on the 1,200-acre campus designed to house ADI customers. Higgins said there are more to come.
“They have several that are looking at the campus, but Kloeckner is right now front and center,” Higgins said Thursday. “We issued them a will-serve letter for utilities … this week, and they’re working with our office on the groundbreaking event.”
ADI, a $2.5 billion development, began operating earlier this year on an industrial megasite near Golden Triangle Regional Airport.
Kloeckner’s 200,000 square-foot facility will process up to 250,000 tons of aluminum annually, shaping the material from ADI into a product, according to a company press release issued in November.
“Think of Kloeckner like (you think of the) steel mill (Steel Dynamics), where MS Steel Processing and New Process Steel take the rolls of steel and slice it into either bands or sheets,” Higgins said. “Kloeckner does the same thing; it’s just aluminum.”
Higgins said the “highly mechanized” facility will create about 20 jobs.
“Not a whole lot of jobs because it’s so automated, but they’re very well paid jobs,” he said. “It’s not SDI pay, but it’d be among the highest.”
The Dispatch could not reach Kloeckner representatives by press time on Thursday, but the November press release announcing the project said the investment is aligned with the corporation’s goal of broadening its processing portfolio in the American market.
“Our clear focus on customers’ value chains and our portfolio of unique products and services will allow us to accelerate the growth in our automotive and industrial segments,” CEO John Ganem said in the press release. “We look forward to realizing our full potential in the North American markets in the years to come.”
The press release said the ramp up for the new facility is planned for the fourth quarter of 2026, with the site offering plenty of room for future expansion. Higgins said Thursday the facility has room to grow to more than 400,000 feet.
ADI’s customer campus allows for at least 10 customer companies to co-locate and purchase materials from the mill in return for free freight, preferential scheduling and scrap collection.
While Kloeckner is the first official client on ADI’s campus, Higgins said discussions with other companies interested in co-locating are underway.
“There’s several others that are in negotiations, discussions and things,” Higgins said. “Obviously (Kloeckner) isn’t going to be the only one there. My guess is probably two or three more are nibbling at the bait, and we’re hoping to sink the hook.”
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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