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The Ohio Valley awoke Monday to news of more opportunity coming to the Weirton area, with the announcement by Cleveland-Cliffs of plans to bring a new electrical distribution transformer production facility to the community.
Set to begin operations sometime in the first half of 2026, the facility has a goal of employing 600 workers, with an investment of $150 million - including $50 million from the state.
This will be an opportunity for much - but not all - of the 900 USW employees who lost their jobs with the idling of Weirton's tin mill earlier this year to potentially return to work if they would so choose.
It also means the repurposing of a currently unused facility in the Half Moon Industrial Park, bringing more activity to that area of the city.
The idling of the tin mill was a huge step backwards for our area at a time we felt as if we were finally moving forward. This announcement takes us a little closer to being on even ground, with the hope of additional development in the future to put us into a positive stance. We definitely need those wins for our community.
It's also a win for Cleveland-Cliffs, as the company has noted Grain Oriented Electrical Steel from its Butler Works in Pennsylvania, as well as stainless and carbon steel produced at its facilities in Ohio, Michigan and Indiana, will be used in the manufacturing of these transformers.
It will all take time, of course, and we're sure there will be questions along the way. Production equipment will need to be purchased and installed. Processes will be needed for the hiring - or rehiring - and training of workers, who will need to become accustomed to the differences between manufacturing tinplate and fabricating transformers.
Then, there is the question of the tin mill itself. The focus for this new operation appears to be in Half Moon. So, what, if anything, will happen with those facilities?
We, and the community, look forward to getting those answers as this project moves ahead and our area continues its work to build toward a new future.