WEST CHESTER, Ohio,
Feb. 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- AK
Steel (NYSE: AKS) today announced that it will build a new,
world-class Research and Innovation Center in Middletown, Ohio. The 120,000 square
foot facility will be constructed on a 15-acre site located in the
Cincinnati – Dayton growth corridor along Interstate
75. The estimated project cost is $36
million.
The new Research and Innovation Center will replace the
company's existing research facility that is located at another
site in Middletown. AK Steel's largest steel manufacturing
plant is also in Middletown, and
the company's corporate headquarters is in nearby West Chester, Ohio, a northern suburb of
Cincinnati.
"Construction of this new Research and Innovation Center
underscores AK Steel's strong commitment to the future of
steelmaking in America and to our company's continued industry
leadership as a technological innovator in the steel business,"
said James L. Wainscott, Chairman,
President and CEO of AK Steel. "The new center will be
customer-focused, providing advanced technical support to our
valued customers, as well as developing new and improved steel
products for a number of our markets."
Mr. Wainscott noted, "Our talented researchers, scientists and
engineers are already working to develop such innovative products
as next-generation Advanced High Strength Steels to help automotive
customers design lighter, more fuel-efficient vehicles that
maintain superior strength and safety performance, high efficiency
electrical steels that will help the nation's electricity grid
become more energy-efficient, and new stainless steels that offer
superior corrosion resistance for a wide variety of
applications. The new research and innovation center will
enhance our capabilities to bring these products to the
marketplace."
Mr. Wainscott added, "We greatly appreciate the support and
cooperation of the State of Ohio,
City of Middletown, Warren County
Port Authority, JobsOhio, and REDI (Regional Economic Development
Initiative) Cincinnati, in helping
to make this project a reality. While we considered strong
proposals from a number of locations, including several in other
states, we are very pleased that Middletown – where our company was founded
more than 100 years ago – emerged as the clear best option for this
investment in AK Steel's future."
The new facility will be home to the company's approximately 75
researchers, scientists and engineers who will perform cutting-edge
research, applications engineering, advanced engineering, product
development, and customer technical services. The facility
will also house pilot lines that simulate the company's steel
manufacturing operations, ranging from melting and casting, to hot-
and cold-rolling, to final finishing. The pilot lines are
used for research, enhancing existing products, problem-solving in
production, and experimentation for new and improved products.
AK Steel said groundbreaking for its new research and innovation
center is planned for the late spring or early summer of
2015. The project is subject to final state and local
government approvals.
Executive Announcements
In conjunction with today's
announcement that AK Steel will build a new Research and Innovation
Center, the company also announced two changes in executive
leadership, effective immediately:
- Eric S.
Petersen, 46, has been named Vice President, Research
and Innovation. Mr. Petersen was previously Vice President, Sales
and Customer Service. "Eric brings extensive customer-oriented
research and technical experience to this critical new position for
our company," Mr. Wainscott said. "We look forward to his valuable
leadership as we construct our new facility and focus our company's
research and innovation efforts going forward."
- Scott M.
Lauschke, 45, has been named Vice President, Sales and
Customer Service. Mr. Lauschke joins AK Steel from his previous
position as Vice President and General Manager of AFGlobal
Corporation and spent 15 years at The Timken Company in a variety
of leadership roles. Mr. Wainscott said, "We welcome Scott to AK
Steel. His strong sales background, leadership skills and industry
experience will help ensure that we continue to achieve our goal of
serving customers better than any other steelmaker."
Mr. Petersen has been appointed to the newly-created
position of Vice President of Research and Innovation. In
this role, he will have overall responsibility for the design and
construction of the new facility, and he will lead AK Steel's
efforts to provide outstanding technical service to our customers,
continually improve our existing product offerings, and develop new
and innovative steel products for the future. He will have
responsibility for the Customer Technical Services, Product
Development and Applications Engineering, Research and Innovation,
and Research Planning functions. He will report to
Jim Wainscott.
Mr. Petersen began his career with the company in 1991 at
Middletown Works, rising to various operating and quality control
positions in the 1990's. He was promoted to General Manager,
Rockport Works in the year 2000, and became General Manager, Carbon
Steel Technology in 2004. He was named General Manager,
Quality Assurance in 2006, Director, Customer Technical Services
and Research in 2007, Director, Research and Innovation in 2010,
and Director of Specialty and International Sales in 2012. He
was named Vice President, Sales and Customer Service in 2013.
He is a past member of the Board of Directors of Hill Top
Equestrian Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to reaching
at-risk youth, and has held numerous other volunteer leadership
positions working with at-risk youth and providing equi-therapy to
children with disabilities.
Mr. Petersen holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Metallurgical
and Materials Science Engineering from the Colorado School of
Mines.
Mr. Lauschke joins AK Steel with more than 20
years of experience in sales, customer service and operations in
the metals industry. He will have responsibility for leading
the Sales and Customer Service organization, including Carbon and
Specialty Steel Sales, as well as Inside Sales, Customer Service
and Inventory Planning, Products, Sales Planning and Coordination,
and AK Steel International activities. He will report to
Jim Wainscott.
Mr. Lauschke's most recent position was Vice President and
General Manager of AFGlobal Corporation, a manufacturer of
engineered products serving oil and gas, power generation,
transportation, and industrial markets. He had full
responsibility for the firm's Steel Industries subsidiary,
including sales and marketing and strategic business
development. Prior to that, he was employed by The Timken
Company in its Alloy Steel Business, most recently as General Sales
Manager, Industrial. In this role, he managed top-line
results and led commercial strategy development for Timken's
largest business unit. His prior roles at Timken included
Operations Manager, Special Finishing, along with Sales Engineer
and Account Manager, and Market Manager. Previously, he was a
Customer Service Engineer for Caparo Steel, and a Product Engineer
and Process Engineer with Republic Engineered Steel.
He has been active in his church, serving as a catechist, parish
pastoral council member, and in a number of other activities.
In addition, he has volunteered as a coach for youth basketball and
baseball, and also served with Habitat for Humanity and the Girl
Scouts. Mr. Lauschke holds a Bachelor of Science degree in
Metallurgical Engineering from the Illinois
Institute of Technology and an MBA from the University of Chicago.
A Heritage of Innovation
For more than a century, the
company has been an industry leader in steel innovation. In
1910, AK Steel's predecessor company, Armco, Inc., established the
first facility in the steel industry devoted entirely to research,
and the company has been on the leading edge of steel technology
ever since.
The many products and processes developed by the company
throughout its history include pioneering the world's first
continuous hot rolling sheet mill in the 1920's. Its
trailblazing research also led to the development of various types
of electrical steels used in power transmission and distribution
equipment. The company helped revolutionize the automotive
exhaust market in the 1990's with the introduction of specific
types of aluminized stainless steels.
In recent years, AK Steel introduced ULTRALUME®, an Advanced
High Strength Steel designed to improve safety and light weighting
of structural components in vehicles, and CHROMESHIELD® 22, a new
nickel-free stainless steel with enhanced benefits and stable
pricing for customers in the automotive and food service
markets.
AK Steel
AK Steel is a world leader in the production of flat-rolled carbon,
stainless and electrical steel products, primarily for automotive,
infrastructure and manufacturing, construction and electrical power
generation and distribution markets. Headquartered in
West Chester, Ohio (Greater Cincinnati), the company employs
approximately 8,000 men and women at eight steel plants, two coke
plants and two tube manufacturing plants across six states:
Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
Additional information about AK Steel is available at
www.aksteel.com.
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SOURCE AK Steel