Cleveland-Cliffs invests $150 million to establish electrical distribution transformer manufacturing plant in West Virginia
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. has announced plans to establish a new electrical distribution transformer production plant in Weirton, West Virginia. The steel producer plans to repurpose its Half Moon Warehouse in Weirton to begin production of three-phase distribution transformers. The company will invest $150 million into the project, with $50 million coming from West Virginia in the form of a forgivable loan. The facility is expected to be operational in 2026.
What people are saying
In a recent quote, Lourenco Goncalves, Cleveland-Cliffs' Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, “Distribution transformers are critical to the maintenance and expansion of America’s electric grid. These transformers are in short supply, and that shortage stifles economic growth across the country. The shortage will continue to be exacerbated by the widespread adoption of Artificial Intelligence in virtually all sectors of the economy, which will exponentially increase the consumption of electricity, in the United States and worldwide. Said another way, there will be no AI without electricity, and there will be no electricity without transformers. Our vision for Weirton is to develop a first-of-a-kind center of excellence for transformer manufacturing that will provide good paying, middle class jobs to skilled workers, and will service our country’s electrical infrastructure needs.”
United Steelworkers Local 2911 President, Mark Glyptis, added, “This investment by Cleveland-Cliffs will provide employment opportunity for the hard working, skilled Steelworkers of USW Local 2911. The new plant builds on Weirton’s proud legacy of steelmaking, and will establish our region as a hub for manufacturing of transformers needed to support the economic and national security of the United States. I thank Lourenco Goncalves for remaining dedicated to this community and Governor Justice for the strong support by the State of West Virginia. Finally, I reaffirm the commitment of USW Local 2911 to the success and future growth of transformer production in Weirton.”
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