$122M Siemens Fuel-Cell Factory Powers Toward Summer Wrap-up

Wed February 05, 2003
Brenda Ruggiero

A $122-million fuel cell factory for Siemens Westinghouse Power Corp. currently is under construction in the Pittsburgh, PA, township of Munhall on the Monongahela River. The site was chosen in Sept. 2001, winning out over eight cities, including Orlando, FL, and Ft. Worth, TX.

State and local officials reportedly put together a $6.6 million incentive package to help Siemens choose the PA site. The 215,000-sq.-ft. (19,974 sq m) factory initially will employ more than 100 machine operators, engineers and electrical assemblers, and it represents a return of large-scale manufacturing to the former steelmaking center, the USX Homestead Works. Plans are to double the size of the facility within four years and employ as many as 500 people.

Siemens is a German electronics company with interests in energy, communications, transportation and auto parts. The group acquired Westinghouse’s non-nuclear power generator business in 1998. Solid oxide fuel-cell technology first was developed by scientists at Westinghouse Electric in Pittsburgh before the company broke apart in the 1990s.

The fuel cells, which are shaped like a battery but are the size of a rail car, use a combination of oxygen and hydrogen to produce electricity more efficiently, more cleanly than traditional methods, with the only by-products being hot water and heat. However, use of the cells has been limited by cost. To remedy the situation, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) funded a 10-year, $500 million research program to make them smaller, more efficient and less costly.

Several companies, including Siemens, were asked to take part in the program, which is managed by the DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy and overseen by its National Energy Technology Laboratory in Morgantown, WV. The cells produced at the new plant reportedly will be sold to facilities, such as hospitals, industrial parks and military installations.

The prime contractor for the Munhall project is Continental Building Systems of Homestead, PA. Project Manager Mark Deley reported that the start date was Nov. 15, 2001, and a substantial completion date is set for Aug. 23, 2002. “The current schedule is extremely aggressive and requires the complete cooperation of the owner, tenant, consultants and subcontractors to achieve the substantial completion date,” Deley said.

Concrete obstructions and foundations remaining on the site from the old USX Homestead Works created several challenges involving site utility and building foundation installation.

Deley reported that the number of employees assigned to the project varies as it progresses. Subcontractors include Senate Engineering, Pittsburgh, construction staking; Kishmo Concrete, Apollo, PA, concrete; Faboon L.L.C., Columbus, OH, precast wall panels; Ferguson Steel Company, Dublin, OH, structural steel; Marsa Incorporated, Pittsburgh, masonry; Bruin Roofing Inc., Coreopolis, PA, TPO roofing; Southwest Aluminum & Glass Inc., Cuddy, PA, glass and glazing; Schindler Elevators, Pittsburgh, PA, elevators; Ruthmuff Incorporated, McKees Rocks, PA, sprinklers; Sauer Incorporated, Pittsburgh, HVAC and plumbing; Rost Enterprises LP, Greenock, PA, electrical; Rieter Sheet Metal Co., Verona, PA, sheet metal; Arbon Equipment Corporation, Bridgeville, PA, dock levelers; Overhead Doors of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, overhead doors; All Pro Painters, Carnegie, PA painting; Davis Fetch, Pittsburgh, doors, frames and hardware; T.A. Ward Constructors Inc., Pittsburgh, excavation and site utilities; Peter J. Caruso & Sons Inc., Pittsburgh, asphalt paving, and Hess’ Landscape Nursery, Jefferson Hills, PA, landscaping.

The equipment list for the project includes Caterpillar 330 and 325 track hoes, a Caterpillar 963 highlift, a Caterpillar 416 rubber tire backhoe, a Caterpillar D300 articulated dump truck, Caterpillar D5 and D7 dozers, a Caterpillar C8563 compactor, a Caterpillar 140G grader with laser and a Manitowoc 2900 crane.

This story also appears on Construction Equipment Guide.