The Advocate (Pictou County, NS) Wednesday, December 31, 2014, p. 3 Back to Table of Contents Pictou Centre MLA working to reopen Maritime Steel NEW GLASGOW - Pictou Centre MLA Pat Dunn says work is ongoing in an effort to reopen Maritime Steel and Foundry. Dunn says he has been in constant contact with foundry owner Abbas Jafarnia and former workers to operate the plant. It has been idle for several years after Jafarnias failed attempts to secure working capital. A metallurgical engineer by profession, Jafarnia eventually left Pictou County for similar work in Ontario. He became the project manager for Peninsula Alloy Inc. in Niagara Falls in July. Jafarnia bought the facility after it went into receivership in 2010. He began production several months after the purchase in the summer of 2011 but he was unable to keep it open consistently through a period of more than a year. There is a very good opportunity to have this reopen, Dunn said. There are investors in place who are not asking a cent from government. He said the potential is there for enough contract work to employ 150 people in two shifts. Im talking daily to Abbas about this, he said. It needs $2 to 4$ million to get it up and running. Dunn said he has also discussed acquiring a work permit with the provinces environment and economic development departments.
Posted on: Wed, 31 Dec 2014 16:48:52 +0000