Two years to the day after the first roll of steel came off the assembly line, U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker paid a visit to Severstal to see how far the plant had come and talk about where it”s going.
During his Monday visit Wicker toured the steel manufacturing facility, watching as a roof-mounted crane hefted 25-ton rolls of sheet steel, before briefly speaking with employees on the production floor. He reminisced about his multiple visits to the plant during and since its construction, when it was still Severcorr, and the impact it”s had on the Golden Triangle.
“What we do is provide jobs for people of all education levels,” said Wicker. “And almost half of these workers are from Lowndes County.”
Currently, Severstal employs 545 workers at the Columbus plant, and that number is expected to rise by 100 over the next two years. The company brought jobs to the area even before it opened its doors, according to Wicker, as the facility constituted the largest construction site in the Western hemisphere during its earliest stages.
Now Wicker says Severstal provides jobs to a broad range of Mississippians. A partnership with East Mississippi Community College has resulted in the training and placement of technical workers and the plant has managed to keep some of Mississippi State University”s and the University of Mississippi”s top graduates in state with an average salary of $77,000.
“That”s good money in any state,” said Wicker of the average Severstal salary.
Severstal is scheduled to begin Phase II of its facility development in January. Severstal CEO Jim Hrusovsky says that will involve the construction of new support facilities on Severstal property.
The support facilities will include, among others, New Process Steel, which will cut lighter gauge Severstal steel in preparation for use in products such as appliances, furniture and garage doors.
Mississippi Steel Processing, another support manufacturer, will deal with heavier gauge steel.
Hrusovsky says the support manufacturers will provide services to Severstal as well as serve their own customers.
Wicker called Severstal a “testament to local economic development,” and says he expects its impact to grow in the near future.
“I see the demand for steel increasing as we come out of the recession,” he said.
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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