Steelton company selected for gas pipeline contract, plans to hire 150 workers

Atlantic Coast Pipeline LLC has signed a $400 million deal with Dura-Bond Industries of Steelton to provide steel pipe for the project.

Dura-Bond officials say the contract is the largest in the company's history and will require hiring 150 workers to run a second shift, according to a company news release. The order calls for about 540 miles of pipe ranging from 30 to 42 inches outside diameter, said Jason Norris, Dura-Bond vice president, commercial.

Some positions are being filled now, but hiring will "ramp up this summer," Norris said in an email.

"We are extremely pleased with such a large pipe order, and are proud that the Atlantic Coast Pipeline partners have the faith and trust in us," Norris said. "Since 2006, we've produced nearly 200 miles of pipe for Dominion (Energy) and are excited to secure this tremendous order. We have a lot of work ahead of us and we will be up for the task."

Pending approval by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Atlantic Coast Pipeline would run from Harrison County, W.Va., southeast through Virginia with a lateral extension to Chesapeake, Va., and then south through eastern North Carolina. If approved, construction is scheduled to start in late 2016.

Dura-Bond will be producing pipe through 2017, the release said.

"Dura-Bond has an outstanding reputation in the industry and has been a long-term supplier of pipe and pipe coating for Dominion's gas transmission business, dating back to the 1970s," said Diane Leopold, president of Dominion Energy. "This contract alone will provide significant economic growth to the region, beyond cleaner air, lower customer bills and jobs."

The ACP joint venture reached the agreement with Dura-Bond prior to FERC approval because of the long lead time needed to buy raw materials and to get a guaranteed production schedule for this large amount of new pipe, the release said. ACP expects to file its FERC application late this summer, receive its FERC certificate in the summer of 2016 and begin construction shortly thereafter. The pipeline is expected to be in service by late 2018, the release said.

In 2003, Dura-Bond acquired the pipe manufacturing plant in Steelton formerly owned by Bethlehem Steel Corp. The company is unionized through the United Steelworkers.

In a separate transaction, Dominion signed an agreement with Dura-Bond to produce 39 miles of additional 36-inch and 30-inch outside diameter steel pipe for the company's Supply Header Project in West Virginia and Pennsylvania, which has the ACP as its primary customer. The Supply Header Project schedule is the same as for the ACP, the release said.

Source: Central Penn Business Journal