[nimsjus]

More good news for Mobile. Does anyone think this affects the ThyssonKrupp(sp?) positively or negatively?
Pipe company picks Mobile for $75 million plant
Saturday, March 10, 2007By KAIJA WILKINSONBusiness Reporter
Berg Steel Pipe Corp. has chosen Mobile as the site for a new $75 million steel pipe manufacturing facility that will employ about 100 people, Berg and Alabama officials announced Friday.

The plant, which will fabricate large-diameter pipe used in oil and gas exploration, will be built on 86 acres at the former International Paper site in north Mobile, which is currently owned by the Alabama State Port Authority.

Berg expects to close on the land by late April and break ground in May or June, said Dave Delie, Berg's president and chief executive officer.

He expects the plant to be operational in the second half of 2008.

The Port Authority laid the groundwork to sell the site to Panama City, Fla.-based Berg at its Feb. 27 board meeting when the board accepted Director Jimmy Lyons' proposal to sell the property for $34,000 an acre, or $2.9 million.

"I've known Berg for nearly 25 years and I've worked with Berg for the past five years to bring this ... to reality in our community," Lyons said, calling Berg "a fine company led by fine people."

Part of the German Europipe family of pipe mills, Berg Pipe opened in 1980 and employs more than 230 people at its Florida facility, where pipe is fabricated and coated.

The Mobile facility will include an approximately 180,000-square-foot pipe fabrication building and a pipe coating building that will be between 60,000 square feet and 70,000 square feet, Delie said.

Mobile emerged as the best fit among sites in six states, including Louisiana, primarily because of its transportation features including access to five railroads, a large dock facility and close proximity to interstates, he said.

"If you look at our pipe, it's 24 to 48 inches, so when we ship, we take up a lot of space. Transportation is a huge factor in our business," Delie said. "That is probably the key that led us to Mobile."

The Mobile Industrial Development Board in December 2006 approved a $5 million package of tax incentives for the project.

Delie said hiring will begin at the end of this year or early in 2008, and for most positions, the company will be looking for hard workers rather than specific experience. Berg will train people for jobs that will pay $12 to $18 an hour. Incentives could mean a couple dollars more an hour, he said.

The Mobile facility will be a minor source of emissions, Delie said. "We'll take steel such as IPSCO makes in coil form and weld it," he said.

Delie said the Alabama State Port Authority was instrumental in landing the project, and that the state, county and city provided "critical assistance" throughout the decision-making process.

"We were impressed with the enthusiastic support demonstrated by all the parties and the Mobile community for our selection of the former IP site for our spiral pipe operation."

The port authority in 2004 completed the purchase of a 182-acres tract once used by International Paper. It paid $1.6 million for 96 acres and reclaimed the rest after IP canceled its long-term lease. Berg would buy a little less than half the property.

"Berg is a great company, very community-oriented and enthusiastic about coming to Mobile," said Bill Sisson, vice president of economic development for the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce. "It's a significant project for us even though it's been sort of overshadowed by some of the other projects we've been working on. But they're making a big investment and creating a large number of good-paying jobs, so we're thrilled to have them."