Newspaper Page Text
VOL. 105 NO. 19
A rmco Steel Announces Plans To
Construct A New Plant In Perry
Plant To Locate In Perry Industrial Park
Super effort by a blue-chip
leadership team has attracted
a blue-chip company to
Houston County.
Armco Steel Corporation,
the nation’s third largest
steelmaker, has purchased 40
acres at the western edge of
Perry as the site of its next
Armco Building Systems
Pjint.
’*The purchase represents
months of hard work by the
government and business
leadership of Perry and
Houston County, including a
special “task force” visit to
Armco’s corporate
headquarters in Middletown,
Ohio, earlier this year.
“If the rest of the citizens of
Perry and Houston County are
just half as persuasive and
personable as the delegation
that visited us in Middletown,
I know we’ll never regret our
decision,” commented P.J.
(Pete) Trepanier, general
manager of Armco Building
Systems.
The decision Mr.
Trepanier referred to will
into Perry a
muttimiliion-dollar plant
which will manufacture pre
engineered metal building
systems to serve the entire
Southeast. The present con
struction schedule calls for
breaking ground during the
first quarter of 1976, with a
start-up in early 1977.
“Market conditions could
alter that timetable a few
months either way,” Mr.
Trepanier told The Houston
Home Journal, “but with the
growth we see throughout the
Southeast, I’m confident we’ll
proceed on schedule.”
Armco Building Systems
has a plant at Washington
Court House, Ohio, and is
opwiing a second plant in late
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Plans For Armco Plant Unveiled
Armco Steel Southeastern manager Fred
Flaherty (right) points out some facts about the
plans for the new plant to be located in Perry to
part of an 8 man delegation that visited Armco’s
main offices in Middletown, Ohio. From left are
Perry Mayor James McKinley, Perry Area
Chamber of Commerce executive vice president
m » - »>*<■*»
The Houston Home Journal
July at Longview, Texas, to
serve Southwest markets.
Phase One of the con
struction program here calls
for construction of 107,000
square feet of manufacturing
space and another 5,000
square feet of office space and
Mayor Welcomes
Armco To Perry
Perry Mayor James
McKinley said this week
concerning the Armco Steel
announcement, “This is a
great day for Perry and a
giant step forward in the
future growth of Perry. Arm
co is indeed a welcome ad
dition to this community and
on behalf of the citizens of
Perry 1 want to offer them a
very warm welcome to our
city.”
Mayor McKinley further
said, “Having visited Armco’s
home offices in Middletown,
Ohio, recently with a group of
Perryans, 1 must say that 1
was very impressed with the
management of the company
and the manner in which they
conduct their vast and vital
industrial operation.”
The Mayor continued,
“Armco Steel is one of the
most highly respected in
dustrial giants in the world
and it is noteworthy that this is
the first industry to locate in
our industrial park. We could
not have gotten a better in
dustry into Perry and now we
look forward to continued
growth in what I believe is one
of the finest industrial parks in
the entire Southeastern U S.”
Published fe»ery Thursday At Perry Georgia’s Real Welcome Center
locker rooms. Phase Two will
provide about 30,000 more
square feet of manufacturing
space.
At start-up, the Armco plant
expects to employ ap
proximately 60 skilled
workers, which will be
McKinley further pointed
out that he and the members
of the City Council, the Perry
Area Chamber of Commerce,
The Houston County Com
mission and the Houston
County Industrial Develop
ment Authority had all been
working behind the scenes
with the Armco officials for
the past several months to
work out details for the
location of the plant in Perry.
Carter Lauds
Armco Plant
Concerning the Armco
announcement, County
Commission Chairman
Charles Carter stated, “We
are proud to welcome Armco
to Houston County. While on a
visit to Middletown, Ohio, I
was extremely impressed
with their company’s heritage
and with all aspects of their
business.”
He added, "Perry’s landing
of this new industry speaks
well for the city, its govern
ment, and Chamber of
Commerce. Perry continues
to progress and move for
ward."
Elwyn McKinney and Houston County Com
mission chairman Charles Carter. Also making
the Ohio trip several weeks ago were Mel
Tolleson, Bobby Branch, Leahman Stanley,
McKibben Lane, Robert Bettag and Elmo
Richardson.
PERRY, HOUSTON COUNTY, GEORGIA, THURSDAY, MAY 8, 1975
200 Will Be Employed At Perry Plant
gradually increased as
production reaches target
objectives. With completion of
the second phase, ap
proximately 200 full-time men
and women will be employed.
In announcing the purchase,
Mr. Trepanier said Armco’s
advance planning team had
been impressed with Perry’s
location and accessibility to
major rail and highway ar
teries.
“But we had identified other
areas in the Southeast which
offered about the same ad
vantages of transportation
and location,” the Armco
official said. “What really sold
us on Perry was the very real
interest and completely
cooperative attitude of
everyone we talked to here -
from Mr. McKibben Lane, the
developer, to city, county and
industrial development
authority officials -- and, of
course, the Chamber of
Commerce leadership.
They’re some very sincere,
professional and cooperative
individuals.”
With the Chamber of
Commerce acting as coor
dinator, the team which sold
Armco on locating here in
cluded County Commission
Chairman Charles Carter and
immediate past Chairman
Frank Rozar; Mayor James
McKinley, City Engineer
Elmo Richardson and the
entire Perry Council; Malcom
Reese, Chairman of Houston
County Industrial Develop
ment Authority, and a
Chamber team headed by
William Purser, President;
Harold Jennings, immediate
past President; Jimmy
Stubbs, Chairman of the In
dustrial Development Com
mittee, and Executive Vice
President Elwyn McKinney.
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Architect's Drawing Os Perry Plant
Armco Building Systems plant in Perry,
Georgia, will have equipment arranged for
***rright-line production. The main building will be
240 feet wide with three 80-foot bays - one for
rolling panels, one for making connectors, and the
third for welding structurals. There will be a
smaller building for the painting operation. The
Armco Founded By George M. Verity In 1900
Armco Outperforms Metal
Building Industry At Large
Armco Steel Corporation
was started in 19(K) by George
M Verity, the son of a circuit
riding Methodist minister
From the very outset, the
company’s founder and his
management associates were
guided by a self-imposed set of
ethical principles. These men
saw the need for a strong
profit orientation, but they
also believed in an equally
strong commitment to serve
society - specifically em
ployees, shareholders,
customers and neighbors.
In 1919, Armco's Board of
Directors put their principles
into writing and called them
the “Armco Policies”. These
beliefs have served as a
constant reminder to suc
cessive generations of
management as they made
the countless day-to-day
decisions that shape a com
pany's personality.
Today, Armco is one of
America’s most respected
industrial organizations. Last
year the company achieved
sales of more than $3 billion
and profits of mof’e than S2OO
million. The company is a
leader in many areas:
NATIONAL oil and drilling
equipment, stainless steels,
electrical steels and con
struction products.
The construction products
are manufactured by Armco’s
Metal Products Division, the
nation’s second largest
producer of pre-engineered
metal building systems The
Perry plant, of course, will be
the newest facility for
fabricating components of
Armco Building Systems,
Other plants are in
Washington Court House,
Ohio, and Longview, Texas
Armco STEELOX wall and
roof panels will account for
the largest portion of Perry
production. STEELOX panels
were introduced in 1934 as a
revolutionary roofing and
siding system that eliminated
unsightly, through-the-wall
fasteners. Today, after a
series of subsequent im
provements -- particularly the
durable exterior colors -
STEELOX panels are still
regarded as the quality
pacesetter of the metal
building industry.
While the metal building
industry has enjoyed a
dramatic growth rate in
recent years, Armco’s per
formance has been even
better than the industry’s
average. Consequently,
there’s a need for more
capacity for Armco Building
Systems.
The Washington Court
House plant was the first in
the industry to produce a
complete line of metal
buildings (self-framing, truss
type, dear-span and beam
and-column) from a relatively
small number of standard
components. That plant was
opened in 1950 and its capacity
was doubled in 1955.
In 1954, Armco launched a
massive dealer marketing
program to develop the design
capabilities of the independent
contractors who sell and erect
Armco buildings. Armco’s
plan was to increase its share
of the market by building
tetter and more attractive
structures for applications
other than storage and
warehouse functions. That
strategy paid off handsomely
in 1973 when the metal
building industry -for the
first time - had more sales in
hardware processing and shipping docks will also
be separated from the manufacturing building so
that materials can be phased from a paved yard
which allows for flexibility in the volume of
shipments and use of finished inventory. This
layout saves space and time and helps keep orders
properly separated.
the commercial segment than
in the manufacturing in
dustrial market.
Armco has been a leader in
developing new products and
new approaches for the metal
building industry. Armco’s
Stubbs Calls Armco
News Joint Effort'
James B. Stubbs, President
of The First National Bank of
Houston County and chairman
of the Perry Chamber of
Commerce industrial
development committee,
stated this week concerning
the Armco Steel plant an
nouncement, “I am delighted
Armco Steel has made a
decision to put their
Southeastern plant here in
Perry. This news comes at an
especially significant time
when the country is having
economic problems. This new
plant will be a real economic
boost to all of us in this area.”
Stubbs further said, “I want
to commend our chamber’s
executive vice president
Elwyn McKinney on the
outstanding job he has done
over the past few months of
gathering information and
working closely with Armco
officials to help them make
their decision to locate in
Perry.”
Stubbs added, “The location
of Armco here is the result of a
tireless effort by chamber,
city and county officials
working together in the test
interest of Perry. I am proud
28 PAGES
building systems group has
been one of the company’s
healthiest operations in recent
years and its importance to
Armco Steel Corporation is
expected to become even
greater within the immediate
future.
to welcome Armco to our
community.”
Armco Is
Sales Leader
Sales of metal building
systems in 1974 as compiled by
the Metal Building
Manufacturers Association
reached an all-time high of
$770,722,239, according to P.J.
(Pete) Trepanier, general
manager of the Armco
Building Systems.
Mr. Trepanier said the
industry sales figure was
achieved by shipping 1,245,220
tons of steel, up from 1,225,281
in 1973. He further pointed out
that Armco Building Systems
contributed to the industry’s
record year with a 17 percent
increase in shipments ~ 15
percent better than the in
dustry average.
A metal building system
itself represents an average 20
percent of the total cost of a
building project. Thus, last
year’s record represented
almost $4 billion of in-place
construction.