Cleveland-Cliffs says Weirton site will become state-of-the-art electrical transformer production plant

Cleveland-Cliffs will transform its assets in Weirton into a electrical transformer production plant, jump-starting the region’s economy and providing a charge to an area that has been one of the world’s largest steel producers for generations.

The company made the announcement early Monday morning; a press conference in Weirton is scheduled for 2 p.m. today with company officials, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice and other state and local officials.

The investment by Cleveland-Cliffs will, according to the company, address the critical shortage of distribution transformers that is stifling economic growth across the United States.

“Distribution transformers are critical to the maintenance and expansion of America’s electric grid. These transformers are in short supply, and that shortage stifles economic growth across the country,” said Lourenco Goncalves, Cleveland-Cliffs’ chairman, president and CEO. “The shortage will continue to be exacerbated by the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence in virtually all sectors of the economy, which will exponentially increase the consumption of electricity, in the United States and worldwide. Said another way, there will be no AI without electricity, and there will be no electricity without transformers.

“Our vision for Weirton is to develop a first-of-a-kind center of excellence for transformer manufacturing that will provide good paying, middle class jobs to skilled workers, and will service our country’s electrical infrastructure needs.”

Cleveland-Cliffs will repurpose its Half Moon Warehouse in Weirton to commence production of three-phase distribution transformers used in electric power distribution systems. The total investment is $150 million, of which $50 million will be granted by the state of West Virginia to Cliffs through a forgivable loan. Cliffs expects the new plant to come online in the first half of 2026.

Repurposing the plant will result in reemployment opportunities for 600 USW-represented workers from the idled Weirton tinplate mill. The new electrical transformer plant will also generate additional demand for American-made GOES, exclusively produced in the United States by Cleveland-Cliffs, at its Butler Works steel mill in Butler, Pennsylvania.

“The former Weirton site offers significant growth opportunity, with the needed infrastructure in place and a world class highly-trained workforce ready to be deployed. Very importantly, Weirton is located in West Virginia, a state where the legislative and the executive branches prove every day that things can happen really fast and efficiently. We thank Gov. Justice for helping to advance this critical project and the Governor’s West Virginia Department of Economic Development for extending a forgivable loan of $50 million in support of our investment. I would also like to express appreciation to our Weirton host community and numerous elected officials from the region for their ongoing support of Cleveland-Cliffs,” Goncalves said.

“This investment by Cleveland-Cliffs will provide employment opportunity for the hard working, skilled steelworkers of USW Local 2911,” added United Steelworkers Local 2911 President Mark Glyptis. “The new plant builds on Weirton’s proud legacy of steelmaking, and will establish our region as a hub for manufacturing of transformers needed to support the economic and national security of the United States. I thank Lourenco Goncalves for remaining dedicated to this community and Governor Justice for the strong support by the State of West Virginia. Finally, I reaffirm the commitment of USW Local 2911 to the success and future growth of transformer production in Weirton.”