HarbisonWalker International (HWI) selected The Point Industrial Park in South Point, Lawrence County, Ohio, as the location for its state-of-the-art monolithic refractories manufacturing facility. The company announced in February 2017 that it would invest $30 million to build a monolithics plant as the next step in its strategy to continuously improve performance and respond to customers’ needs. The new facility will be one of the most technologically advanced refractories plants built in the U.S. and will be operational by early 2018.

HWI expects initial capacity to be approximately 80,000 metric tons per year. The plant will feature state-of-the-art automation and technology, and it will utilize new lean techniques throughout its operations to maximize material flow efficiency and production. In addition, the facility will introduce advanced packaging technologies.

According to HWI, The Point offers unique transportation, logistics and business amenities that combine to create an ideal and cost-effective match for the requirements of the facility. Encompassing 500 acres and located in the Ohio River Valley in the northern Kentucky/southern Ohio region, the site is strategically positioned to provide HWI with the capability to move its monolithics from the southern-most point in Ohio to any location around the globe.

Groundbreaking is scheduled for this summer.