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U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (left) watches Gov. Ted Strickland place a brick Wednesday, Aug. 25, during a ceremony at the SunCoke construction site off Yankee Road in Middletown.

Staff photo by Nick Graham U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (left) watches Gov. Ted Strickland place a brick Wednesday, Aug. 25, during a ceremony at the SunCoke construction site off Yankee Road in Middletown.

Gov. Strickland, Sen. Brown lay bricks in ceremony at plant

By Chelsey Levingston, Staff Writer Updated 7:47 AM Thursday, August 26, 2010

MIDDLETOWN — The $360 million Middletown Coke Company project is an indicator of Ohio’s economic recovery, Gov. Ted Strickland said Wednesday, Aug. 25, during a bricklaying ceremony at the plant’s site.

Manufacturing is leading Ohio to economic recovery, the governor said. Ohio steel is in the Empire State Building and modern aircraft, for example. He said the local plant will help keep Ohio a steel state.

“This (facility) is hugely important,” Strickland said.

About 50 local business leaders, government officials and SunCoke employees attended the ceremony on Yankee Road, including Strickland, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Sunco Chief Executive Officer Lynn Elsenhans spoke, as well as Mike Thomson, president of SunCoke Energy and Jim Wainscott, president and chief executive officer of AK Steel Corp.

The project has created more than 500 construction jobs and more than 80 permanent full-time positions, according to SunCoke.

“This is a good day for Middletown,” said Vice Mayor Anita Scott Jones. “I know there are people who have concerns, but you can’t eliminate everything from the environment and this is one of the cleanest facilities.”

Concerns from Monroe residents delayed the project for a year when the plant’s first air permit was appealed. SunCoke Energy, a business unit of Sunoco, started building Middletown Coke in April. Coke is a byproduct of coal used to make steel.

The plant will supply 550,000 tons of coke annually and provide 46 megawatts of electricity to AK Steel for at least 20 years.

By this time next year, it will be a fully functioning coke manufacturing facility, Thomson said.

When that time comes, Middletown Coke will play a vital role in keeping AK’s Middletown Works competitive, Wainscott said.

According to project officials, more than 3.6 million bricks will be used to build 100 coke ovens.

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