By Kenyetta Hairston-Bridges, Director of Real Estate and Financial Services
ArcelorMittal’s new $83 million Tailored Blanks facility is yet another indication that manufacturing is returning to Detroit. I was honored to represent the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation (DEGC) at Monday’s dedication ceremony, alongside Mayor Duggan, the MEDC, and the Detroit Regional Chamber. The operation will employ more than 80 people in this initial phase, with plans to grow its workforce soon. In addition to expansion plans, the company is already working with the community to identify ways to enrich the surrounding neighborhood.
ArcelorMittal’s investment reactivates more than 300,000sq./ft. of obsolete and underutilized space in the I-94 Industrial Park, once a cornerstone of Detroit manufacturing. Today, this area is one of the city’s key locations for neighborhood employment and business expansion. Thanks to private and public partnerships, we are able to unlock more investment opportunities that allow the city’s economy to grow.
This tremendous project breathes new life into the I-94 Industrial Park, an area that has sat idle for far too many years. We have already seen exciting activity from Flex-N-Gate and LINC Logistics. With catalytic developments like this, other new facilities are expected to join the neighborhood as well. Therefore, the DEGC will continue to prepare land for manufacturing, warehousing and logistics opportunities, and prioritize infrastructure investments in the industrial corridor.
The new ArcelorMittal facility is a key part of the company’s growth strategy, producing strong, lightweight parts for at least seven global automakers. The work there is technical and highly complex, and an essential component of the firm’s “S-in motion” steel solutions strategy. Workers there represent Detroit’s best and brightest, and demonstrate the depth of the area’s talent pool.
With a world of options to locate this new plant, we’re glad ArcelorMittal chose Detroit. It galvanizes our city as a vibrant and viable location for manufacturing success, and showcases our industrial assets, workforce, competitive business environment, and our connectivity to supply chains around the world.
ArcelorMittal’s President Todd Baker thanked our organization for its contributions saying, “It would have been impossible to locate a facility like this without the help of the DEGC.”
On behalf of everyone at the DEGC, I’d like to thank Todd and his team for the opportunity to support this project.