Ashtabula Pig Iron Plant Covered by PLA

Pinney Dock

A new pig iron plant in Ashtabula will be constructed solely by union construction workers.

Petmin USA signed a Project Labor Agreement with the Cleveland Building and Construction Trades Council to ensure only highly skilled and highly trained building trades members will construct their first facility in North America.

A subsidiary of South African-based Petmin Holdings, Petmin USA will serve the metal casting industry in the Great Lakes region, as well as European-based foundry customers.

Nodular pig iron (NPI) is used by the metal-casting industry to create unique metallic alloys used in the automotive, aerospace and aviation industries, as well as industrial equipment, infrastructure and defense products, among others.

Currently, NPI is imported from Brazil, Ukraine and Russia.

The $474 million project is expected to create around 500 jobs for members of the building trades.

Cleveland Building and Construction Trades Council Executive Secretary Dave Wondolowski said he believes the plant is the largest of this type of facility within the jurisdiction to come out of the ground since the Perry Nuclear Power Plant was constructed.

Work on the plant, which is located on a 30-acre industrial site at the Pinney Dock Terminal, began in November and is expected to be wrapped up in about two years.

“This guarantees the work will be done by our members,” Wondolowski said of the PLA.

Currently, Beaver Excavating Company of Canton is onsite. The next phase will include concrete and piling work, and will be managed by Techint Engineering and Construction.

“We believe in the competence and commitment of the local industrial workforce and remain grateful for the continued local support as we commence construction,” said Bradley Doig, President and CEO of Petmin USA, in a prepared statement.

According to the Petmin USA website, during the past year, the project underwent rigorous reviews by numerous local, state and federal agencies in order to acquire the necessary permits required to start construction.

Petmin’s facility is projected to keep carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions at less than 0.8 metric tons of CO2 per ton of product. Petmin’s margin will increase more after a CO2 recovery plant is built on site.

Once operational, the plant will create 110 full-time jobs.