JM Steel, a subsidiary of JENNMAR Holdings, today announced that it has expanded its Nextracker-specific production lines at its facility in Leetsdale, Pennsylvania. The facility is the former Bethlehem Steel plant, operated by BCI Steel. The site began producing tracker torque tubes for Nextracker in 2022 World of solar energy visited the factory.
A crane operator drags completed torsion tubes across the factory floor of Nextracker’s facility in Leetsdale, Pennsylvania. Billy Ludt/Solar Power World
“We are pleased to partner with JM Steel and celebrate the expansion of the Pittsburgh facility to meet customer demand. This facility is also expected to produce core components of our new low-carbon tracker offering announced this week,” said Dan Shugar, Founder and CEO of Nextracker.
Nextracker says the expansion at its factory just outside Pittsburgh can now produce 4 GW of tracker torque tubes annually.
“We are proud to announce the expansion of this historic Pittsburgh steel mill that we have called home for more than 100 years,” said Tony Calandra, CEO of JENNMAR. “This partnership with Nextracker enables significant investment in advanced manufacturing and brings high-quality jobs back to our communities. We couldn’t be more excited to increase our workforce in Pennsylvania to more than 500.”
To celebrate the expansion of the new facility, a dedication ceremony was attended by top government officials, including David Crane, Secretary of State for Infrastructure at the Department of Energy; Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis; US Congressman Chris Deluzio (PA-D); State Rep. Valerie Gaydos; and others.