ZANESVILLE – A new business is set to bring about 100 production and management jobs to Muskingum County after agreeing to purchase land for a new plant Wednesday.
AMG Vanadium, a company which converts spent refinery catalyst to provide an alloy called ferrovanadium and other products to the carbon and stainless steel industries, signed a purchase agreement with the Zanesville-Muskingum County Port Authority for 154 acres of land at the Eastpointe Business Park. Based in Cambridge, Ohio, the company expects this new production facility to almost double AMG’s capacity to process spent catalyst.
The biggest impact AMG Vanadium President Hoy Frakes said this new plant will have on the area is its ability to provide jobs. The plant will create about 500 temporary construction jobs, in addition to the 100 plant positions. Construction will begin this summer and completion of the plant is expected in 2021.
“I lived in Muskingum County for 18 years,” Frakes said. “This is really a strong community and to be able to build a plant in this area is something truly phenomenal.”
Frakes said AMG’s Cambridge facility is the “gold standard” of spent catalyst processing globally, and that the Zanesville plant will improve on that foundation and contain new technology. The new plant will have an estimated 34,000 tons of spent catalyst processing capability, but the Cambridge location will remain the headquarters for AMG, according to Frakes.
Outside of bringing a new plant and more jobs to the area, Port Authority Executive Director Matt Abbott said this agreement will help the county in the bigger picture of job creation and growth in the community. The plant will bring new residents, and those residents will bring new business to the area, Abbott said.
“Just like any other business that we have in Muskingum County, we just don’t support them when they come here. This is a lifelong relationship that we develop throughout. It’s cradle to grave when we’re looking at things in our organization, so we’re very excited to build a strong partnership with this company.”
Eastpointe Business Park was one of five sites the Port Authority saw as a potential fit for AMG. The park is located 2.5 miles north of Exit 157 on I-70, just east of Zanesville. By preparing to open a plant in Eastpointe, AMG will join the likes of Dollar General, AVON, Bimbo Bakery, Bilco Company, Halliburton Energy Services and TRP Zanesville.
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