U.S. Northwestern Silicon plans to expand metal silicon production capacity

Business News Agency February 11 News David Tuten, president of the emerging Northwest Silicon Company, said that the company prefers to build a new silicon metal plant rather than acquire the Addy plant in Washington State.

"We are considering the feasibility of each of the two options. After some time of argument, we will make a decision now."

Tuten worked for Global Specialty Metals for 20 years. In an interview, he did not disclose the possible location of the factory, but said that a large number of state government or public sector representatives had contacted him and proposed to build a factory within their jurisdiction to create jobs. “Several representatives told us that they can give us some concessions,” Tuten said, noting that the company will make a decision within two weeks.

Although the Northwest Silicon Industry is evaluating the feasibility of building a plant, they have not ruled out the possibility of acquiring Addy. The Addy plant is owned by Alcoa with a nominal annual capacity of 33,000 tons. In November last year, Tuten announced that Northwest Silicon was negotiating with Alcoa on the acquisition, but has not yet obtained a promise of low-cost power supply from the local public sector.

“We have not negotiated the price of electricity until now. If we cannot guarantee a low-cost power supply agreement with Spokane in Evesta, the company can also purchase electricity from the free market.”

In addition to the issue of power contracts, cost is also a matter for companies to consider. There is no doubt that the cost of capital is higher, but Tuten did not disclose whether the company would find a joint venture to build a factory. Similarly, even the acquisition of the Addy factory requires a lot of money. "If you want to go through the process and get a series of approvals, it will take months and months for the original equipment to be upgraded and then put into production. This is not something you can do to wave.