(Story & photos by Matt Drzik, additional photos courtesy of Tenaris)

The steel industry has been through a history of ups and downs that parallel the up-and-down trajectories of Beaver County and the United States. An announcement Wednesday is pushing that trajectory upwards.

Tenaris, who locally own and operate steel plants in Koppel and Ambridge, announced that their plans would be opening back up to its employees after time off during the pandemic. The announcement came via a press conference led by Tenaris US Division President Luca Zanotti, and US Congressman Conor Lamb.

“This is a product we really need, it makes a lot of sense to make in the United States, and it makes the most sense of all to make it here in Western Pennsylvania,” Lamb said. “I really believe there is no place in the United States that blends the old-world economy with the new-world economy better than Western Pennsylvania.”

Lamb spoke at the Koppel plant on Wednesday, and was joined by fellow constituents in Senator Elder Vogel, State Representative Aaron Bernstine, State Representative Jim Marshall, and County Commissioner Dan Camp among others. Preceding Lamb in the press conference was Zanotti, who spoke highly of the employment that Tenaris will retain and continue adding to.

“This means that we added to our staff almost 300 employees,” spoke Zanotti. “I’m very proud to say that, if we consider the entire industrial footprint that we have in the United States, we will be adding more than 1100 employees. Out of the 1100, 850-900 are already with the company, and the rest will join us by the end of the year.”

To check out photos from the press conference, scroll down below: