Lakeside Steel to add 80 more jobs in Thomasville, Ala., in $10 million third phase

Lakeside Steel has announced a third phase of its project in Thomasville, bumping employment to 280 and total investment to $57.5 million.
The Canadian firm makes pipe for oil and gas drillers.
Last year, Lakeside announced a $40 million, 120-job pipe mill south of downtown Thomasville.
Then, in March, the Welland, Ontario, firm said it would build a $7.5 million, 80-job facility to harden pipe and shape and machine its ends. That plant will be located at a former Linden Lumber Co. mill north of town.
Now, the firm says it will spend another $10 million to add similar hardening and end-finishing capacity for pipe casing.
Chief Executive Officer Ron Bedard said that expanding its pipe finishing capacity, instead of relying on third parties for processing, would be attractive to customers and increase profits.
"The new end-finishing and heat treatment facilities, when online, will provide increased security of supply to our customer base and will significantly enhance the company's margin," Bedard said in a statement.
Lakeside said it would sell up to 23 million Canadian dollars ($24 million) in stock, in part to pay for the newest expansion.
Thomasville Mayor Sheldon Day said that city, county and state governments have committed more than $4 million to buy land, build rail spurs, and provide other incentives. That doesn't count the value of sales and non-school property tax abatements, as well as the state's capital investment tax credit. That credit allows a firm to deduct up to 5 percent of its investment each year for 20 years from state corporate income taxes.
No additional incentives were offered for the most recent expansion.
"The third deal made a lot of sense for them," Day said. "That made our incentives pay off that much better."
Day said Thomasville continues to court other firms that do business with Lakeside.
Alabama Industrial Development Training is accepting applications online for jobs at Lakeside, which will pay from $10 to $25 an hour. Last week, a Lakeside job fair in Thomasville attracted 900 applicants.