CLEVELAND, Ohio – Republic Steel hopes to reopen its Lorain mill, which has been idled for three years, in the spring, the company says.

The company, based in Canton, said in a news release that it “anticipates” starting production at its 9”-10” rolling mill in the second quarter of 2019 with more than 60 employees. About 200 worked at the plant when it was idled in 2016.

“Over 60 employees have been hired and completed training, and the mill has undergone a complete refurbishment,” the release states. “We have successfully run internal production trials, and now anticipate receiving sufficient orders to support moving to a production mode in the 2nd Quarter of this year.”

The union representing workers at the mill said this is the first its members have heard of the spring resuming operations.

“The United Steelworkers have not received any formal notice from Republic Steel on the startup of the 9”-10” inch bar mill in Lorain,” reads a USW statement. “We have reached out to company representatives, and are waiting for their response. At this time, none of our members have been recalled from lay-off. The USW is committed to work with Republic Steel to facilitate the startup and return our members to work as soon as possible.”

The company announced last June that it would reopen the mill in September in response to business generated by President Donald Trump’s steel tariff, which imposed a 25 percent tax on steel imports. Republic Steel then pushed the date of reopening back to last December.

“Republic had expected the 232 Steel Tariffs to create additional demand for domestic production, allowing production to begin in December 2018, however imports remain at historically high levels for products produced on this mill,” the company said in a news release.

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