U.S. Steel venture plans new Ohio plant

U.S. Steel Corp. said Thursday it has an agreement with Kobe Steel Ltd. of Japan to invest about $400 million in their joint venture, Pro-Tec Coating Co. of Leipsic, Ohio, to build a continuous annealing line that will produce high-strength steels for the automotive industry.

The line will have an annual production capacity of 500,000 tons. The project in Leipsic, about 20 miles northwest of Findlay, Ohio, is expected to create 500 construction jobs and 80 full-time jobs.

Construction is expected to take two years. Pro-Tec makes hot-dipped galvanized high-strength steels.