New specialty metal manufacturer set to open, bring jobs to Canonsburg

Julia Mericle
Pittsburgh Business Times

A new specialty steel manufacturer—Ameri-Precision Metals— is set to open in Canonsburg this Spring, bringing with it up to 100 new jobs.

Ajay Goel, who is already owner and CEO of the existing Bethel Park-based Ameri-Source Specialty Products, said work on the new facility, located at 40 Curry Lane, started in April 2019. Goel said the company, which was incorporated about a year and a half ago, is targeting a commercial production start date in April or May.

Ameri-Precision Metals will manufacture cold-rolled and high-treated carbon steel. The company will make engineered steel, rather than commodity steel, and will be sold to companies that make products like saw blades and knives, Goel said.

Goel said the plant will be completed in four phases. He expects the first phase, which will focus on cold-rolling capabilities, to start up commercial production in April or May. The second phase, which will focus on hardening and tempering facilities, is slated for completion by the end of 2020.

Goel said he plans to hire for 100 jobs within the span of this year, and if the company is able to implement phases three and four, which focus on further extension of capabilities and would take about four years to complete, that employee count could rise to about 170.

Ameri-Precision Metals already hired about 24 people and has plans to hire another 25 to 30 employees in phase one.

“This is a complex project, and that is why not many people have attempted this earlier,” Goel said. “It requires a certain amount of skilled personnel to operate, which is a bit of a challenge, but we are trying our best to find people with some basic skills, which we can then train to operate this plant.”

Goel said he expects Ameri-Precision Metals to bring in about $17 million to $18 million in revenue in its first year of production. Ameri-Source Specialty Products, which opened in 1996 and makes graphite and specialty metal products, made $50 million in revenue in 2018. That company has about 30 employees.

He said he decided to launch the Ameri-Precision Metals because about 80 percent of this type of hardened, tempered steel is manufactured outside the U.S. and imported. The company is seeking a target market of mostly domestic sales.

Ameri-Precision Metals signed a 20-year lease for 250,000 square feet of space at the Canonsburg site, which is owned by Pennsylvania Transformer Technology Inc.

The company will host a tour of the site on March 13.