Thursday, August 26, 2010 11:03:06 AM - Middletown Ohio
by John Beagle
Approximately 70 local business leaders, government officials, AK Steel, Sunoco and SunCoke executives and employees attended the bricklaying ceremony at the Suncoke facility under construction on Yankee Road. Those speaking at the event included Governor Ted Strickland, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Sunco Chief Executive Officer Lynn Elsenhans, Mike Thomson, president of SunCoke Energy and Jim Wainscott, President and Chief Executive Officer of AK Steel Corp.
Photo: Middletown Mayor Mulligan, Dick Slagle, Middletown Councilman Bill Becker.
Photo: Chamber Rep Kathie Wassenich and Chamber President Bill Triick
Photo: American Savings and loan President Fred Debiasi (Shown with Chamber President Bill Triick on the Left)
The ceremony marked the first 25% of the construction phase of SunCoke's $360 million plant located adjacent to AK Steel's Middletown Works. Once completed, the state-of-the-art,heat-recovery coke battery will be capable of supplying AK Steel with about 550,000 tons of metallurgical coke annually. In addition, the new plant will recover the waste heat from the coking process to generate approximately 50 megawatts of electrical power each year, or about 25% of Middletown Works' electricity requirement.
Photo: Jim Wainscott, President and CEO, AK Steel
"Our long-term agreement with SunCoke Energy to supply AK Steel with coke and electrical power is one of the most forward-looking commitments by our company in recent years," said Mr. Wainscott. "The new SunCoke plant will play a vital role in the future competitiveness of our Middletown Works by providing a stable and competitive supply of coke for our blast furnace."
Video of speeches from Governor Strickland, Senator Brown.