Arconic Inc. will sell its Nash, Texas, rolling mill for as much as $350 million, the company announced Monday.
Ta Chen International Inc., a U.S. subsidiary of Taiwan-based Ta Chen Stainless Pipe Co. Ltd., has agreed to buy the mill for $300 million cash and "additional contingent consideration of up to $50 million," according to an Arconic news release. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year.
"The strong market conditions for industrial products gave us an opportunity to sell an asset that has been idled for several years. This is a positive development for the dedicated workforce at Texarkana, and it helps our business as we continue to explore opportunities to enhance our portfolio," Arconic executive Tim Myers said.
The mill employs approximately 90 people, and Arconic announced in August it would add about 35 jobs there in early 2019, according to previous Gazette reports. An investment of $14 million to upgrade and restart finishing equipment at the mill is making the new jobs possible. The jobs are expected to pay more than $20 an hour and have a regional economic effect of about $4.3 million a year.
In August, the city of Texarkana, Texas, gave Arconic $150,000 to be dispersed over the next two years to support the new jobs.
Executives with Arconic and TCI met with Nash City Manager Doug Bowers and other officials Monday morning to inform them of the sale, Bowers said, adding that city government played no role in the sale agreement.
"That mill is a very, very vital part of the city of Nash. We were glad to see Arconic reinvest in it, and now with TCI, it looks like that this thing's going to get going even bigger and better than we thought it would. So we are very excited about the future," he said.
The Nash mill is part of Arconic's Global Rolled Products segment, which offers a range of aluminum sheet and plate products for the aerospace, automotive, commercial transportation, brazing and industrial markets. The mill produces material primarily used to serve the industrial market.
TCI did not respond to a request for comment by presstime Tuesday.
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