Hickey Metal Fabricating President Leo Hickey, left, explains part of the production process of a TruLaser Tube 700 tube-cutting machine to U.S. Congressman Bill Johnson (R-6) who toured the Hickey plant in Salem on Monday. Johnson talked with plant officials and employees about trade, tariffs and other issues during the stop in Salem. (Salem News photo by Larry Shields)

SALEM — With a 45,000-square-foot expansion to the west of the main facility under way, Hickey Metal Fabrication hosted a visit by U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson (R-6) on Monday.

Johnson met with company executives and employees during the tour aimed at learning more about the day-to-day operations of one of Salem’s major employers.

The company is a family-owned metal fabrication business focused on quality metal products. It started out as a roofing company and has grown to a large metal fabricator with customers all over the world.

Before touring the plant, Leo Hickey, president of the 75-year-old business, said recent capital investments have included a $1.8 million sheet metal punch.

The TruPunch 5000 by Trumpt is a productive high-end machine that can punch through metal up to a quarter-of-an-inch thick, Hickey said, adding it’s the one of just a few presses of its kind in the state.

Corporate Financial Officer Suzanne Hickey said the machine will be installed in the new building in the Salem Industrial Park.

The company has five locations in Salem with over 400,000 square feet, Hickey said, not including the additional 45,000 square feet now being constructed.

“We put money back in the company,” she said.

The 45,000-square-foot expansion is scheduled for completion later this year and Leo Hickey said a new, high-tech tube bender will also be installed.

When it gets right down to it, he said, “We’re a job shop and we have to be faster and better.”

He said a new laser-cutting machine will also be added.

“We move millions of pounds of steel,” Hickey said wondering about the current Trump administration’s discussion on tariffs.

Johnson said, “It’s a work in progress. The president is trying to reset the stage where work is concerned.”

Steel and aluminum have been destabilized by China, Johnson said.

“What you see the president doing is keeping his promise to the American people.”

Johnson explained that China has responded and the tariff discussions are back and forth. “There is a need to obtain a balance, to protect domestic production” and he pointed out there are product and country exemptions.

“So, it’s going to be a work in progress. So don’t think that where we’re at is where we’re going to wind up,” he said.

In many areas the country has investment surpluses, he said.

“America is still the land of dreams,” Johnson said, noting plans for the $6-8 billion cracker plant are moving forward in nearby Belmont County.

Last month, PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC), based in Thailand and the South Korean-based Daelim company, said they are partnering on a feasibility study regarding the huge petrochemical ethane cracker complex in Belmont County.

PTTGC America said it has already invested more than $100 million on the project in preparation for the proposed plant.

Johnson said it will take 10,000 jobs to construct what he called the “largest construction project in the state of Ohio” while noting, “that facility will use a lot of steel.”

He noted that tariffs can change the calculation “if they are forced to buy American steel … you can imagine the cost. It’s conflict resolution on both sides.”

He added, “We’ve got to be able to do business with countries the way we do business between counties. Technology has obliterated the boundaries.”

PTTGC said the cracker plant will transform the Ohio Valley and the statewide economy, but the final decision on the project has not yet been made.

lshields@salemnews.net