The plant is expected to provide approximately 120 new full-time manufacturing jobs to Northern California. Approximately 320,000 hours of local building and construction trade labor was required to build the new facility, according to the company.

“We’re proud to be a partner with POSCO and SeAH in bringing this impressive facility on line and creating manufacturing jobs that will benefit the community,” said John Surma, chairman and CEO of U.S. Steel. “The capacity and location of this facility will favorably position United Spiral Pipe to be an active, competitive participant in the expanding market for large-diameter line pipe in North America.”

The USP facility has pipe making and coating capabilities that will produce, at its peak, 300,000 net tons of line pipe per year to meet the anticipated demand in North America for spiral welded pipe due to natural gas and oil transmission projects. The facility will produce pipe with outside diameters ranging from 24 inches to 64 inches and will implement an advanced and automated two-step welding process, according to the joint venture.

U. S. Steel and POSCO each own 35% of the joint venture. SeAH, a manufacturer of tubular products in the Republic of Korea, owns the remaining 30%.

The new spiral welded pipe facility is located on land owned by UPI.