State legislators met with Severstal Steel executives Thursday in Columbus to discuss the future of the plant in Warren. Severstal officials said they are interested in staying in Warren but don't have a timeline for when the plant, which closed about one year ago, will reopen.
And while Severstal isn't expected to make any kind of decision soon, officials wanted to make sure everyone was on the same page.
"I'm not expecting any decisions today," Rep. Tom Letson, D-Warren, said Thursday. "My hopes for the meeting are just to impress upon the executives at Severstal that we have probably Severstal's finest facility right here in Warren, Ohio."
Warren Mayor Mike O'Brien said the Severstal closing has been devastating to the city.
"We took a very large hit in our income tax," O'Brien said, "as well as our usage of water and sewer."
State legislators told Severstal executives they do need to either reopen the plant or sell the building to someone who would use it.
Letson said the Warren plant should be important to Severstal because it can produce a higher quality steel than other plants.
"It has the ability to make a high variety of steel, a high carbon steel that the other plants simply can't do," Letson said.
