(The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette published the following story by Jonathan Barnes on its website on July 23, 2003.)
PITTSBURGH, Pa. — The old Tube City could someday be known as “Maglevsport” if plans for two buildings in McKeesport’s RIDC develop as expected.
Monroeville-based Maglev Inc. recently reached an agreement with Regional Industrial Development Corp. on a three-year lease of 32,000 square feet of space in the old roll shop and brick shed of the former National Tube plant.
Two-thirds of the space will be used as a factory where workers will perfect a technique for precisely fabricating steel beams on which Maglev cars would ride. The technique could also be used by the Navy in shipbuilding.
The remaining space will be used as offices for the project, which local, state and county politicians have touted as the next wave in the industrial-technical revolution.
Maglev officials are upbeat.
“This project will prove that [such fabrication] is feasible. And we believe we can reduce fabrication costs [of long pieces of steel] by 20 to 30 percent,” Maglev President Fred Gurney said.
Often, long pieces of steel must be altered to fit specifications after they are fabricated, he said.
Maglev expects to invest $20 million during the next three years to prove the technology. That funding is expected to come from the Navy, which has provided Maglev with $7 million over the past three years. The county, the state and McKeesport have pledged about $2 million to renovate the two mill-site buildings, Gurney said. Those renovations include two new 25-ton cranes and a new concrete floor in the roll shop.
Ultimately, the Maglev/Navy venture will employ 50 to 100 people at the McKeesport site, Gurney said.
Work already is under way at the old mill site to prepare for the new high-tech effort. The nearly century-old cranes in the roll shop are being dismantled to make way for the new equipment.