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AK Steel to build 'World-Class Research & Innovation Center'

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AK Steel has announced plans to build a "World-Class Research and Innovation Center" one mile east of I-75's Middletown exit near the Atrium Hospital.

The $36 million facility will replace the current one on another Middletown site. Groundbreaking is scheduled for late spring or early summer on the 15-acre site.

AK Steel's Director of Government and Public Affairs Barry Racey says the new research facility will focus on three key areas:

  • Making steel stronger and lighter for the automotive industry. (They are under a lot of pressure to meet new mileage standards.)
  • Researching electrical steels. (High efficiency steel that goes into the electrical distribution grid.)
  • Making stainless steel more resistant to corrosion.

"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 at AK Steel."

Ann Thompson has decades of journalism experience in the Greater Cincinnati market and brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her reporting.