Will the $1.5 billion dollar aluminum mill planned for Greenup County ever happen? That’s what members of the Kentucky Senate Appropriations Committee want to know. They put Braidy Industries’ new CEO Tom Modrowski on the hot seat before the committee.
His answer is that he believes construction on the facility could start as soon as the last three months of 2020. But first, the company will need to raise an additional $500 million in funding.
But lawmakers are nervous. The state loaned $15 million to Braidy Industries for the project, the first greenfield aluminum rolling mill in the U.S. in more than 37 years. Recently there have been big shakeups in the company. Former CEO Craig Bouchard, who founded the company, was fired by the board of directors. He’s claimed it was because of his focus on raising foreign investments.
But Chairman of the Board Charles Price says that the company is committed to bringing the mill to completion. He reminded senators that the mill is expected to bring 8,247 more jobs to Eastern Kentucky and 18,000 jobs to Kentucky overall. He estimated that in the first year of the mill’s operation, local governments would receive $35 million in taxes and Kentucky would collect $75 million overall.
Price said, “I have always believed Kentucky can lead and this project is just another example of what KY is capable of, a state of the art manufacturing facility that produces Kentucky made aluminum with support of the commonwealth and everyday Kentuckians.”
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqvqS1ECQb4[/embedyt]
Greenup County Aluminum Mill