AK Steel broke ground for its Research and Innovation Center at a ceremony held in Middletown, Ohio. The ceremony marked the start of construction of the company’s new 135,000ft2 facility being built on a 16-acre site in the city’s Renaissance District. The site is located in the Cincinnati-Dayton growth corridor along Interstate 75.
AK Steel said that the USD 36M facility will be customer-focused, providing advanced technical support to the company’s valued customers, as well as developing new and improved steel products for a number of markets. The new facility will be home to the company’s 76 researchers, scientists and engineers who will perform leading-edge research, applications engineering, advanced engineering, product development, and customer technical services. The company also expects to add 15 new full-time research positions.
The new building will feature some of AK Steel’s stainless steel products as part of the exterior design. Other features of the new facility will include: state-of-the-art steel research and testing equipment and analytical tools; a customer experience lobby showcasing AK Steel’s products and technologies, as well as the company’s heritage of steelmaking; a tiered auditorium for technical conferences; and a technical information centre.
The construction of the new facility is expected to be completed by late 2016. The new Research and Innovation Center will replace the company’s existing research facility in Middletown.
