Carpenter Selects Alabama as Site for Premium Products Facility
10/24/2011 - Carpenter Technology Limestone County, Ala., as the location for its recently announced new 400,000 square foot state-of-the-art manufacturing facility.
Carpenter Technology Corp. announced the selection of Limestone County, Ala., as the location to construct its new 400,000 square foot state-of-the-art manufacturing facility that was announced last August.
The facility, which is expected to be operational in about 30 months, has a total cost of approximately $500 million including remelting, forging, and associated finishing and testing capabilities. The company is it in response to strong customer demand for premium alloy products primarily in the fast-growing aerospace and energy industries. The new facility will ultimately be capable of producing approximately 27,000 tons per year of additional premium product and will be designed with modern technology and optimum product flow to meet customer requirements for reduced lead times.
“The site selection process began with about 250 worldwide locations, and we narrowed it down to a dozen, including two Pennsylvania locations,” said William A. Wulfsohn, President & CEO. “After further analyzing state, county and local incentives, utility costs, and labor resources, we felt Limestone County provided the best opportunity for us to expand our core business. The state of Alabama and local government entities put together a very compelling package including various tax initiatives, infrastructure grants, and training programs.”
The company said the expansion in premium capacity will help to strengthen Carpenter’s core business by supporting expanded long-term customer agreements. The initiative will also help enable Carpenter to support the increased demand related to the Latrobe (pending), Amega West, and Oilfield Alloys acquisitions. Finally, the expansion will support increased demand expected from the sales of new technologies the company is planning to commercialize over the coming years.
The approximately 230-acre site is located near Athens, Ala., in the Huntsville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The flat, open tract of land is in an area that will allow relatively easy construction, flexibility for future growth and expansion, and access to a strong pool of skilled workers. Acquisition of the new site is subject to various closing conditions.
Carpenter Technology produces and distributes conventional and powder metal specialty alloys, including stainless steels, titanium alloys, tool steels and superalloys.
