Leading US rebar producer to soon take over vacant facility in Akron
The largest American producer of rebar aims for further expansion into the Ohio market after receiving a JobsOhio revitalization grant.
The Commercial Metals Co. (CMC), a Texas-based company, will renovate a vacant property once owned by the Akron Rebar Co. in Kenmore located at 809 W. Waterloo Road, according to a Team NEO news release. Once completed, CMC plans to hire up to 50 new employees over the course of five years.
Rebar is a metal bar that’s reused to reinforce the strength of concrete.
Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro said in the release that she’s excited to welcome the company to Akron, and is pleased the county can offer the grant to CMC for this project, something that would not be possible without the combined efforts of the city of Akron, the Greater Akron Chamber, Team NEO and JobsOhio.
The JobsOhio revitalization program offers loans typically up to $5 million and grants up to $1 million to support the redevelopment of sites for job creation.
CMC’s Akron facility will be its second Ohio location, according to Team NEO. The other location is in Hamilton, which is roughly 40 minutes northwest of Cincinnati.
“The investment by CMC is representative of the ongoing resurgence of traditional manufacturing in not only the City of Akron, but also across Northeast Ohio,” Greater Akron Vice President of Economic Development Gregg Cramer said in a release.
The facility should be operational beginning next year, according to the Summit County Executive’s Office. Demolition has already begun.
CMC has supplied steel for major construction projects across the world, including AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas, Apple’s campus in Cupertino, California, and the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia.