Bidell, a subsidiary of Canadian company Total Energy Services, is repurposing a 100,000-square-foot machine shop that had formerly been owned but not used by ArcelorMittal and will manufacture, sell, lease and service natural gas and compression equipment from it.

Ulmer said crews have already begun preparing the shop, upgrading utilities, internet and wiring as well as re-certifying cranes and installing new ones. He said Bidell is making a multi-million-dollar investment in the project, which he expects to have up-and-running by the end of May. The company will initially employ 60, but Ulmer hopes to beef the workforce up to about 100 people by the end of 2018.