Ellwood Group to Build $60M Aluminum Plant in Hubbard

ELLWOOD CITY, Pa. — Ellwood Group Inc. announced today that it will construct a $60 million aluminum casting facility at its Ellwood Engineered Castings site in Hubbard, Ohio.

The 70,000-square-foot Ellwood Aluminum manufacturing plant will expand the materials production capabilities of the 108-year-old company, executives said, and widen its focus beyond steel to better serve the tool and die, aerospace forging, plate mill rolling and extrusion industries.

This morning the Trumbull County Board of Commissioners approved a 60%, 10-year enterprise zone agreement for construction of the new plant. Ground is expected to be broken this fall with the plant operating by the first quarter of 2020.

At full manufacturing capacity, the plant will employ 34 full-time, said Pat Callihan, general manager of the Hubbard plant. The workforce will turn out a projected 150 million pounds of large round aluminum billet and slabs annually.

“This significant investment clearly demonstrates Ellwood’s unwavering commitment to serve our customers and expand and develop new markets,” said Ben Huffman, chief operating officer, in a prepared statement. “We decided on Hubbard as the site of our new facility because of its location relative to our potential market, its exceptional workforce and the comprehensive incentive package and assistance provided at both the state and local levels.”

Huffman called the new federal tax laws “a big shot in the arm, helping to justify this important project, bringing high-paying manufacturing jobs back to Ohio and the United States. We appreciate the President Trump’s efforts to make that happen,” he said.

The Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber worked with the company for more than 18 months to land the project, according to Lauren Johnson, manager of 422 Project and Business Development. “Securing this investment for Hubbard Township involved several economic development partners, including state and local officials. This is a big win for our community.”

Among the support the chamber provided the Ellwood Group, Johnson said, was detailed aluminum supply chain information, securing needed utility upgrades and coordinating development assistance from Hubbard Township, the Ohio Rail Development Commission and the state of Ohio.

“Ellwood has several facilities in the country where it could have chosen to expand, and we and our local partners are excited to see the company grow here in the Valley,” said Glenn Richardson, JobsOhio managing director for advanced manufacturing.

Added Walter Good, senior director of the JobsOhio regional office at Team NEO, “Ellwood is a very important component to Trumbull County’s manufacturing base .”

Ellwood Engineered Castings is a gray and ductile iron foundry that operates at 7158 Hubbard Masury Road in Hubbard Township. The plant was purchased in 1992 when the Ellwood Group purchased the assets of the bankrupt Valley-Vulcan Mold plant. Major products include ingot molds used by specialty steel and alloy producers for teeming ingots. These producers include its sister division, Ellwood Quality Steels, which is building a $60 million addition to its plant in New Castle, Pa., that will house new arc remelting and electroslag remelting processes.

Parent company Ellwood Group Inc. consists of nine operating business units that encompass multiple plants in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, Texas and Canada. The family-owned business is operating with its fourth generation of leadership.

Annual sales are in excess of $1 billion, according to the company’s website.

Pictured at top: Ellwood Engineering Castings site in Hubbard Township.

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.