Post date: Mar 22, 2013 12:53:13 PM
MOBILE, Alabama -- The Industrial Development Board for the City of Mobile today approved 10-year tax abatements for a $36 million project between the Alabama State Port Authority and Alabama Steel Terminals LLC that will create 100 new jobs. Alabama Steel Terminals is looking to develop and operate a steel coil handling facility that would move and store steel coils coming into and leaving the port. To be built on land on the main dock complex under lease from the ASPA, the facility would include two 135-foot wide covered storage bays serviced by three 50-ton capacity cranes in each bay. One storage bay will be 1,320 feet long, while the other will be 1,440 feet long. The project would create 100 direct jobs, including 50 initial jobs, and workers should earn about $40,000 a year, benefits included, said Nolan Richardson, a partner of Alabama Steel Terminals. "It will be a very efficient operation," he said. "With the cranes, you have the ability to take the steel from barges to warehouse, then back onto ocean-bound vessels or rail cars or trucks. It allows you to utilize all transportation options at the port." Richardson also said the facility is expected to handle about 600,000 to 700,000 tons of steel in the first year. Alabama Steel Terminals will start construction in April and will have one storage bay completed within a year. The company hopes to have the entire facility completed and running by 2016. The IDB approved about $4.869 million in non-educational property tax abatements over the next 10 years for Alabama Steel Terminals.
By Ellen Mitchell | emitchell@al.com on March 20, 2013 at 2:34 PM