Chicago-based Ryerson Holding Corporation, a processor and distributor of industrial metals and steel, says it is in the process of relocating its Renton operations to the Hub City and is in the process of building a new facility that will be used to ship orders and process metals. 

The new 215,000-square-foot facility is currently being built at 3010 Harrison Ave. A groundbreaking ceremony was held at the site earlier this month. 

Steve Bosway, Ryerson’s west region president, said the new building should be operational by the third quarter of 2022. 

When it opens, Ryerson Centralia will employ about 50 to 60 employees initially with possibilities for expansion. Those jobs will be filled likely by both the Renton staff and the local workforce. 

“The City of Centralia and the county have been very forthcoming and helpful, very helpful and accomodating, and so we’re very excited to be coming down to Centralia,” Bosway said. “We’re looking forward to growing with our customer base here in the Pacific Northwest.” 

The Centralia facility will both fill orders and work in processing metal materials for manufacturing. 

Once operational, Ryerson will produce aluminum, stainless steel and carbon steel into plates, sheets, bars and tube products, Bosway said. 

This plant will not affect another similar operation in Spokane. That facility will remain open, Bosway said, and will continue to service the upper third of Washington and Idaho. 

Bosway told The Chronicle this move down south was triggered by a change in customer location. 

“We’ve been in the Pacific Northwest since the early ‘50s. Most of the time we’ve spent in the Seattle market,” he said. 

But most of the customers they serve now reside outside the Seattle metro area, and he said much of that business has moved down south toward the greater Portland area. A good portion of their product today ships from Renton to locations that are 100 miles or more away.

The new Ryerson Centralia facility will also be about twice as large as their current digs in Renton. 

Bosway wouldn’t say how many years they’re committed to the Lewis County area, but notes that they’re looking at Ryerson Centralia as a “long term venture.” 

Ryerson Holding Corporation, founded in 1842, currently operates around 100 similar plants around North America and Mexico. Nationally, they sell more than 30,000 SKUs and their metals customers are diverse. They make anything from small machine shop parts to parts for Ford Motor Company.

Centralia Mayor Max Vogt, who was at the groundbreaking ceremony, said the opportunity is exciting for the community. Ryerson, Vogt said, appears to have a great reputation and will likely be heavily invested in the community. 

“You can’t create location. It’s like land: You either have it or don’t,” Vogt said. “There’s a lot of potential here because of our location.”

Councilor Mark Westley commented on the business’s move during a council meeting this week. Many of the company representatives at the groundbreaking, he said, talked about community, which piqued his interest in the project. 

“To be able to attract business like that, and to create a mentality and atmosphere like that, they’re going to be a leader in our community and one that we’re going to be able to look to and put a standard on for others to come and follow,” he said. 

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