‘This Mill Is Everything in This Community.’
Researcher, AAM
A year after Section 232 tariffs on imported steel were put in place, Alliance for American Manufacturing President Scott Paul returns to Coatesville, Pa., to sit down with local steelworkers and examine how the city is faring in the latest episode of The Manufacturing Report podcast.
Though a flood of foreign imports threatened the future of Coatesville’s mill, a critical contributor to U.S. national security as a supplier of specialized armored plating, the tide has begun to turn.
The mill, which has shaped the community for more than 200 years, has hired over 50 new employees over the last year with employment sustained at 535 workers. And more than 600 applicants have applied to join them, steelworkers Vonie Long and Fred Grumbine report in the episode.
Though workers at Coatesville’s mill are certainly seeing the benefit of their mill’s recovery following Section 232 trade action, the entire community is in the midst of a revival. Peter Lymberis, co-owner of Little Chef restaurant in Coatesville, has seen the bustle of work at the mill and the resulting orders for his restaurant for himself.
“This mill means everything,” Grumbine said. “For a few years now, we’ve been going through a revitalization here, but I see big things back on the horizon. We were at a stalemate there for a while, and I feel that if we didn’t have the mill here, we couldn’t get back to it. The mill is everything in this community.”
However, Coatesville is not alone in its success. Both Fairfield, Ala., and Lone Star, Texas, have seen their own comebacks with restarts and expansions announced just this year.
Listen to the full episode to learn more about Coatesville’s recovery.
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Reposted from AAM
