NATCHEZ — Besides its name and the addition of 75 new jobs, the biggest change the former Dynasteel Natchez facility will undergo as it morphs into Enersteel will be an expanded product line and more job security for its employees, Natchez Inc. Executive Director Chandler Russ said.

State and local officials, as well as the president of Enerfab — the Cincinnati-based parent company of the Natchez company, Enersteel — announced Tuesday Enerfab’s purchase of the former Dynasteel plant and plans to hire 75 new employees within two years and invest $7 million in Adams County.

Products and jobs

In addition to continuing the work Dynasteel did in ductwork manufacturing for power plants, Enersteel will also manufacture storage tanks and pressure vessels — a market in which Enerfab has cornered more than 50 percent of all work, Russ said.

The tanks can be used in food processing industries, chemical industries or other industrial manufacturing companies, Russ said.

For example, Enersteel might manufacture a tank that holds 200 gallons of orange juice while its being processed, Russ said.

Enerfab President Jeffrey P. Hock said it is also Enersteel’s goal to eventually manufacture tank heads, which provide a lid for storage tanks.

Enersteel will also be regularly using the 250-ton capacity crane perched on a 30-foot pedestal at the Natchez-Adams County Port, which was purchased two years ago for nearly $2 million.

Russ said Enersteel took over Dynasteel’s current contracts, Aug. 3, just two days after the deal closed and nearly a week before the big announcement.

Russ said Enersteel will begin moving in equipment to work on its other products once more employees are hired.

“They will start ramping employment up as soon as humanly possible,” Russ said.

When it comes to hiring a trained workforce, Russ said as soon as possible translates to 30 to 60 days.

Hock said Enersteel will likely hire 20 to 30 people very quickly.

Russ said interested applicants should register with the WIN Job Center at 107 John Pitchford Parkway. The job center can be reached at 601-442-0243.

The expanded product line should create more job security for the projected 100 employees, which includes 25 jobs retained from Dynasteel, Russ said.

“Dynasteel focused (only) on ductwork for power plants. That was what they did. If they weren’t doing that, they weren’t doing a whole lot,” Russ said.

While Russ said he is grateful for Dynasteel’s contributions to Adams County over the past decades, Enersteel has clear advantages.

“Enersteel should provide a level of stability to the workforce that was not as prevalent at Dynasteel,” Russ said.

Russ said with Dynasteel, employment would spike to 200 when the company acquired a contract and then drop off once the contract work was completed.

“(At Enersteel), you’re going to see 100 to 125 people working constantly on day-in, day-out basis,” Russ said.

In addition, Enersteel will offer employees health and retirement benefits, something Dynasteel employees lacked.

Financial incentives

In order to land a quality company like Enersteel in Adams County, Russ said the state and local levels of government offered two tax incentives and a grant to Enerfab.

The Adams County Board of Supervisors agreed, as part of the deal, to exempt Enersteel from paying taxes on any equipment they acquire or move to the Natchez facility for the next 10 years, Russ said. The cost of the equipment is a major factor in the company’s $7 million investment.

However, Enersteel will still be required to pay taxes on the equipment to the Natchez-Adams School District. The taxes Enersteel will pay to the school district will equal approximately half of the total amount of taxes Enersteel would owe without an incentive.

Russ said it’s important to note the county will lose zero tax dollars from its current tax rolls, according to the deal.

The income tax allocated to the State of Mississippi from each employee’s paycheck will go back to Enersteel for 10 years rather than to the state.

Through the Mississippi Development Authority’s Advance Jobs Program, Enersteel qualified for the payroll rebate incentive described above, Russ said.

Russ said in order to qualify for the payroll rebate, companies must pay their employees 110 percent of the county or state wage average — whichever is less.

Since Enersteel’s average salary will be $40,000, the company qualified, Russ said. He said Enersteel will have an average annual payroll of $4 million

MDA also offered Enersteel a $150,000 grant through the Momentum Mississippi Incentive program, which Russ suggested might have sealed the deal.

The grant money will be used to reimburse Enersteel roughly half of the approximately $300,000 cost of relocating equipment to Adams County.

Russ said the grant was designed as a deal closer.

“If there’s icing that needs to be on a cake, (the Momentum Mississippi grant) is the last push to do that,” Russ said.

Other incentives

Hock said his company initially gained interest in the Dynasteel facility after subcontracting with Dynasteel and being impressed with the facility and operation.

“When you added the port with a crane permanently mounted on the site, it was just a perfect situation for us,” Hock said.

The Natchez facility should help Enerfab better serve its market in the region as well as gain new customers.

“When the (Dynasteel) assets became available, we thought, ‘What a great time to on invest and expand our capabilities.’”

Russ said Enersteel will be looking to hire welders and technicians of a specific nature. Upon completion of a screening process, Enersteel applicants will have access to training geared specifically toward the company’s needs.