Wausau Daily Herald reported that at Merrill Iron & Steel, the recession seems to be fading quickly into history.

Workers at the Schofield based steel fabricator often put in 50 to 55 hours a week to fill job orders. Recently, they've been making the steel parts used to construct a towering, 11 story building that will house a biomass power plant at the Domtar Corporation paper mill in Rothschild.

But the biomass plant, a joint, USD 255 million project of Domtar and the Milwaukee based utility WE Energies, is only one of the latest projects for Merrill Iron.

Mr Roger Hinner president of the company said that it has clawed its way out the recession by specializing in the fabrication of steel frames for buildings used by the utility and energy industries. That focus has led Merrill Iron to begin hiring additional workers, as the number of projects continues to increase.

He added that "All of this work is going to generate 40 to 50 new jobs in our facility here in Schofield."

The nearly 50 year old company, which moved from Merrill to Schofield in the mid 1990s, found its niche in the utility business in the early 2000s when Wisconsin Public Service Corporation hired the fabricator to provide steel for its new Weston 4 power plant in Rothschild.

Mr Hinner said that opportunity opened the door to enter deeper into the world of construction for utility companies. Now sales to the utility industry comprise about 50% of the company's business.

(Sourced from www.wausaudailyherald.com)