STS Steel says $13.4 million contract will preserve jobs in Schenectady

PHOTOGRAPHER: Michael Lamendola

STS Steel on Friday announced it has received a $13.4 million federal contract to fabricate and erect steel for a New York City project the company said will preserve 60 jobs and create three jobs during the next year.

The Schenectady-based company is preparing 1,800 tons of American-made steel to be used to construct the Fulton Street Transit Center in lower Manhattan.

The competitive contract is the largest in the 27-year history of STS, said company co-founder Glenn Tabolt. “We are sharing this story with the community,” he said during a news conference at the STS plant on Nott Street. U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam, was the guest speaker.

The company landed the contract in August and will ship the first steel to the project Tuesday.

Tabolt said the contract came at a good time for the company, which has been facing a tough construction market due to the recession.

Tonko called the contract, awarded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, an excellent way to “invest in America.”

Tonko said as the United States recovers from one of the deepest recessions in its history, the government must put special effort into revitalizing the country’s manufacturing sector. “Manufacturing lost 1.7 million jobs. That has to be stopped and this is how you do it,” he said, referring to the STS project.

He added that the project does more than preserve jobs, it also rebuilds the state’s infrastructure. The project will improve Manhattan subway connections used by more than 300,000 people daily.

STS’ contribution to the project involves fabricating the main architectural feature of the building, a 53-foot diameter glass-covered steel oculus. The oculus will sit atop a cone-shaped dome and will stream natural light into the transit center. The company will also fabricate spiral stairs that will link passengers to train connections.