On June 9, 2021, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. celebrated six months of continued operation and production of hot-briquetted iron (HBI) at the company's new state-of-the art Direct Reduction plant in Toledo, Ohio. Cliffs' Chairman, President and CEO Lourenco Goncalves hosted Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and other dignitaries for a ribbon cutting ceremony at the plant, which employs nearly 160 employees.

"Today we are celebrating a new era for the iron and steel industry in the United States," Goncalves said. "This event formally marks the culmination of our $1 billion investment to build and operate the world's most modern and environmentally friendly Direct Reduction plant, and the first plant of its kind constructed for the present and for the future."

The HBI plant was built under the auspices of the National Maintenance Agreements (NMA), the premier project labor agreement for the industrial construction and maintenance industry. As a "Yellow Card Project," the NMA was utilized for all aspects of the job, which was completed using union labor.

A total of 28 NMA signatory contractors worked on the HBI project, including Barton Malow, GEM Industrial, RMF Nooter, Rudolph/Libbe, J.T. Thorpe & Son and Lake Erie Electric of Toledo. TAUC joins with NMAPC in congratulating valued client Cleveland-Cliffs on the new plant, and all the union contractors and craftworkers who made it possible!

Watch the June 9 ribbon-cutting ceremony with Gov. DeWine, Cleveland-Cliffs executives and other speakers:

July 13, 2021