Flux Steel Works has unveiled the former ATI steel plant in Stark County, Ohio, which the company acquired in July 2026 and plans to renovate and re-equip as a production facility for grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES). The project is expected to bring more than 200 full-time skilled manufacturing jobs back to the region and establish domestic capacity for a critical material used in power transformers. The site is designed to produce more than 260,000 tons of GOES annually at full production, with commercial production planned for 2029. Flux Steel Works said it has already taken reservations for more than 150,000 tons of the material.
“Our team has nearly a century of combined experience building and running the largest electrical steel mills in America. We are going to take that experience and move fast to put coils in the hands of our customers,” said Denny Wist, CEO, Flux Steel Works. “We have a fantastic site and are thrilled to be working in Ohio among some of the best steelmakers in the world.”
GOES is the magnetic steel used in the core of power transformers, where it carries and directs magnetic flux. The material is essential to transformer production and, consequently, to the expansion and modernisation of electricity infrastructure. Flux Steel Works said the United States currently produces only a fraction of the GOES it consumes, with domestic production coming from a single producer. The country remains particularly dependent on imports for high-permeability grades used in large and advanced power transformers. According to the company, GOES prices have doubled over the past five years.
The need for secure domestic supply has increased as utilities and manufacturers respond to an ageing electricity grid and rising demand for new electricity generation, storage and consumption. Power transformers are frequently among the longest-lead-time components in electricity projects, making the availability of transformer materials an important supply-chain consideration.
American transformer manufacturers are investing in additional production capacity, increasing demand for a reliable domestic supply of electrical steel. On April 20, 2026, the President determined under the Defense Production Act that electrical core steel is “essential to the national defense.”
“Every power transformer built in America needs this steel, and almost none of it is made here. Our goal is not just to be the core steel provider of choice for transformer manufacturers, but to accelerate Ohio’s reindustrialization,” said Steven Stein, Chairman of Flux Steel and majority investor, Etude Capital. “With a fresh vision that combines legacy assets with new technologies, Flux will deliver specialty metals quickly and at globally competitive cost.”
Flux Steel Works is a US-based producer of grain-oriented electrical steel, a key material used in the cores of power transformers. The company has secured reservations for more than 150,000 tonnes of its planned production capacity. Its leadership team has experience in developing and operating some of the largest electrical steel production lines in the United States. Commercial production is scheduled to begin in 2029. Founded in 2012, Etude Capital is a founder-led private investment firm with investments across commercial insurance, real estate and industrial project development. The firm’s holdings exceed $1 billion.
