Alita USA Holdings, a Dubai-based startup company is planning to build a $102 million factory in Buffalo that will produce 150,000 tons annually of high-grade alloy pipes that are used for well casings in oil and natural gas wells, primarily in the United States.
The 340,000-square-foot pipe mill on a brownfield will produce welded Oil Country Tubular Goods casing steel pipes.The site also will include a separate 16,000-square-foot building for a laboratory, office space and for storage.
Ali Hosseini, Alita USA’s CEO told the Buffalo News that the region’s location, close to the company’s suppliers of raw materials, will help hold its costs down, while the region’s workforce, with its historic ties to the steel industry, also played a big role in persuading the company to build the plant in Buffalo.
“From what I’ve seen, in Buffalo, there’s no shortage of skilled labor,” he said.
The company received $2 million in funding from theWestern New York Power Proceeds Allocation Board to locate in the region.
"Western New York is a strong region for manufacturing with a highly-educated workforce and proximity to market, and we are proud that companies like Alita USA are looking to Buffalo and the entire region to grow their businesses,” said Governor Andrew M. Cuomo.
“Last year we put in place legislation to allow the sale of unused hydropower to enable investments in these kinds of job creating projects" Cuomo added.
According to the Buffalo News, the state has offered Alita an incentive package that includes up to $6.4 million in tax credits through the Excelsior Jobs Program, and the Erie County Industrial Development Agency is expected to approve property and sales tax breaks for the project, as well as offering Alita a $2 million “forgivable loan” that will help pay for site development costs.
