The Forward March Allows for Quality Industrial Skills Training

It’s clear that bouncing back from the economic crisis our country faced not too long ago has not been an easy task for many manufacturing businesses. However, one factory is beating the odds. Almost a decade ago, a small steel mill located in central Indiana faced bankruptcy until it was eventually bought out by Steel Dynamics. Today, the plant is successful and plans are in place to invest $76 million towards expansion. The upcoming expansion will bump the factory’s annual production to almost 1 million tons of steel. The mill is the largest of its kind, employing nearly 500 industrial workers.

Originally, the factory was built in the 90’s by Qualitech Steel Corp. and made high quality bar steel for use in appliances and automotive manufacturing, however cheaper Chinese exports beat them to the market and ultimately caused steel prices to drop significantly. Years later, in 2002, following a legally disputed auction Steel Dynamics bought the mini-mill for $45 million. Initially, they invested $100 million to redesign, remodel and re-equip the factory that would later reopen in 2004. The new expansion will add a second line for producing longer bars with high quality steel. The addition will be one of the largest in North America.

The Pittsboro, Indiana based plant isn’t the only one expanding. Pipe manufacturer Welspun Corp., based in Little Rock, Arkansas, reported that they will invest $100 million in their plant expansion program as well as add nearly 200 jobs. With the economy seemingly continuing to grow, more and more factories are investing in expansion and are hiring once again. A positive turn like this marks a great time to enhance the industrial skills of current employees and even new hires. Most investments include new machinery or technology in an effort to increase efficiency and productivity. In order to keep both up, employees must have the proper maintenance training and industrial skills training. ITC Learning provides both and strives to offer industrial professionals of all kinds quality industrial skills training. From online courseware to full motion video courseware, ITC Learning is able to provide adult learners with more than 300 courses and over 2,000 hours of content. Investment means spending wisely with the goal to maximize your return and with ITC Learning’s industrial skills courseware you’ll be able to do just that.

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.com & Ahmet Guler