NY: Welded Tube to Purchase 45 Acres, Construct $50M Facility, Hire 121

Welded Tube USA Inc Executive Chairman Mr. Barry Sonshine announced that the company has finalized agreements to purchase 45 acres in the Tecumseh Business Park on the former Bethlehem Steel facility in Lackawanna in New York. A subsidiary of Welded Tube of Canada, the company plans to invest approximately USD 50 million on the construction of a new facility that will house state-of- the-art steel pipe mill equipment to supply pipe to the energy industry.

Mr. Robert Pike, VP of Welded Tube, and government relations director Mr. Joel Shapiro reached the agreement after months of negotiating with Tecumseh and Krog Corporation, the designated builder for the park.

In making the announcement, Mr. Sonshine expressed his gratitude for the strong support for the project that was offered by Erie County executive Mr. Mark Poloncarz, Deputy County executive Mr. Richard Tobe, New York State Senator Mr. Timothy Kennedy and Lackawanna Mayor Mr. Geoffrey Szymanski. Mr. Sonshine also thanked Empire State Development Corporation and the Erie County Industrial Development Agency for the incentives they provided to ensure the feasibility of the project, and the Buffalo Niagara Enterprise for their project management assistance.

Welded Tube's investment will occur in three phases, and consists of the construction of a 109,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in phase one that would be expanded by an additional 34,000 square feet in phase two. The final phase would call for the construction of a 30,000 square foot building. If market and economic conditions are favorable, the company could hire as many as 121 employees by the completion of the three phases. The initial building construction is anticipated to be completed in February 2013 with production scheduled to begin in August of 2013.

Mr. Sonshine said that "We see great potential for our product in the US market and a great opportunity to develop that potential in the Buffalo Niagara region. I would like to thank our project partners for the assistance they provided to our company and their commitment on this project."