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Pro-Tec Plans to Add Third Line to Ohio Facility

07/11/2012 - Pro-Tec Coating in Leipsic, Ohio, is planning to add a new process line in the first quarter of 2013.

Pro-Tec Coating in Leipsic, Ohio, is planning to add a new process line in the first quarter of 2013. This was what Pro-Tec Coating Co. President Bryan Vaughn told Ottawa-area Chamber of Commerce members Tuesday, 10 July 2012.
The steel-coating company has 291 employees working at the Leipsic facility. The company opened its first process line in Leipsic in 1993 and added another line in 1998 to meet an increased demand for high-quality galvanized steel. The third line will require 80 additional workers, many who are already hired and training on existing lines.
Pro‑Tec Coating Co. was established as a joint venture in 1990 by U. S. Steel Corp. and Kobe Steel of Japan. The original production facility featured a 600,000-ton-per-year capacity hot dip continuous galvanizing line.
Vaughn said construction on the new facility began in March 2011 and was completed in December. Construction on the process line in the interior of the building is under way.
“We have about 400 contractors working on the inside of the building now,” Vaughn said.
The new line is a $400 million investment, according to Vaughn.
He said the current lines produce corrosive-resistant steel that provides about 850 pounds of steel per vehicle. The new line is a continuous annealing line steel that is used for the passenger area of the vehicle.
“This provides approximately 211 pounds of steel per vehicle,” Vaughn said.
He said the majority of the company's business is the automotive industry.
Vaughn said one of the strong points of the Leipsic facility is the excellent workforce in the area.
“It's nice for location and also because of our close proximity to two railroads, but it's the people that make the difference,” Vaughn said.