North American Stainless (NAS) will proceed with a $244 million expansion to its production facility Ghent, Ky. The expansion will boost the company’s total capacity by 200,000 tons annually, a 20% increase, and add 70 new jobs. For its 13th major expansion since 1990, NAS will build a new cold-rolling mill and temper mill; upgrade its annealing and pickling lines to support the new rolling mill; and expand its melt shop to include a 400-metric-ton crane. The continued importation of subsidized stainless steel, and the accompanying national security threats, made the expansion a pressing priority.

“Our latest expansion will bring more clean, sustainable and American-made stainless steel to consumers and directly compete with the subsidized imports of stainless,” said Cristobal Fuentes, NAS CEO. “Our parent company Acerinox was eager to further invest in Kentucky to demonstrate its commitment to our customers and the U.S. market.”

According to NAS, it is the largest fully integrated stainless steel producer in the United States. All of its production lines are located on site at the company’s 4.4-million-square-foot facility on 1,600 acres in Carroll County.