Sep 2 2010
Lakeside Steel Inc. (TSX-V: LS) (the "Company" or "Lakeside Steel") announced that the construction of the Company's new pipe manufacturing facility in Thomasville Alabama has officially started today. Once completed, the new US facility will be one of the most modern pipe manufacturing operations in North America and will significantly expand the Company's production footprint.
All necessary permits have been secured to allow the construction to commence on schedule. A ground-breaking ceremony was held today at the Thomasville site where the construction phase was officially kicked off at 08:00 AM local time. Those attending the event included Thomasville Mayor, Sheldon Day, Alabama State Senator Marc Keahey, Chris Roik, Vice President and General Manager of Lakeside's US operations, and numerous representatives of Clarke County.
Jesco Inc. has been awarded the contract to act as general contractor on the construction of the new facility. A division of the Yates Companies Inc., one of the foremost contractors in the United States, Jesco is an industrial construction company with offices in Montgomery, Alabama and Tupelo, Mississippi. They have been serving the southeastern United States for the past 69 years.
The construction phase is expected to be substantially completed by April 2011, at which time the installation and commissioning of manufacturing equipment is expected to begin. The new mill is anticipated to be in production by December 2011. Once operational, the new facility will produce casing and line pipe products for use in the OCTG sector in sizes from four and a half inches to ten and three quarter inches in lengths of up to sixty feet.
Lakeside Steel's President and COO, Ron Bedard said "I am very pleased to announce that construction began on schedule today in Thomasville. Cooperation and support from government agencies at the state, county and city levels has been excellent, making the process of securing the necessary permitting very efficient. We have chosen a general contractor who has an excellent reputation for this project and I am confident that they will deliver our new mill on time and on budget. The construction phase of our expansion project will employ up to 75 people and is expected to provide more than 40,000 man-hours of work, a significant boost to the local economy."
The Thomasville facility will be operated by Lakeside Steel Alabama Inc., an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company.
Source: http://www.lakesidesteelcorp.ca/