Japan’s Nippon Steel Corporation has revealed plans to invest up to US$ 2.5 billion in US Steel Corporation’s operations in Pennsylvania over the next three years, as it looks to improve manufacturing efficiency and product quality, and expand the range of steel products it makes at the Mon Valley Works for the automotive and “other high-value industries.”

This is significantly higher than the US$ 1 billion investment the Japanese steelmaker had previously announced for the Pittsburgh-area before it completed the acquisition of US Steel a year ago. Most of the planned investment will be made at the Mon Valley Works Edgar Thomson Plant in Braddock, to build a new hot strip mill using the latest available production technologies. The new facility will replace the ageing 87-year-old hot strip mill at the nearby Irvin Plant, which is slated to be decommissioned as part of the company’s modernisation programme.

A study carried out by the company suggested that the investment would have a US$ 1.7 billion positive economic impact on the area and create 6,381 jobs over a three-year period, while generating up to US$ 58 million in state and local tax revenue.

US Steel’s CEO, David Burritt, said in a statement: “The Mon Valley Works is where the American steel industry was first forged, and this investment is proof that its best days are still ahead. This investment means thousands of good-paying jobs will be protected at a world-class facility, producing steel that will supply American automakers and manufacturers for generations. This is what investing in America looks like.”