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Duquesne Business Expanding to McKeesport's Third Ward
By Jason Togyer
The Tube City Almanac
September 11, 2017
Posted in: Announcements
(Tube City Almanac photo)
Duquesne-based Vegely Welding Inc. is completing renovations to a building on Walnut Street in McKeesport as it expands its operations.
The nearly $1 million expansion project is being financed in part by a $300,000 Enterprise Zone loan arranged by the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Duquesne.
According to a press release from the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Duquesne, Vegely has 20 employees at its present location along Route 837 and plans to add up to 15 more in McKeesport. Company president Ken Vegely did not return phone calls seeking comment.
The expansion utilizes part of a building that was begun by the now-defunct Capco Contracting Co. in 2003 on the site of the old Tube City Brewing Co., but left unfinished after Capco's owners were indicted for fraud.
Vegley’s loan is part of a $916,750 project which is also funded through private equity as well as a bank loan, according to a spokeswoman for McKeesport Mayor Mike Cherepko.
Work on the McKeesport facility began approximately four months ago, Cherepko's office said, and is expected to be complete in six to eight months.
"It’s exciting to see what the Enterprise Zone program can do for our communities and for business owners who are committed to improving the economic landscape of the Mon Valley," Cherepko said in a statement. "Our towns were built on industry, and this revolving loan fund has allowed manufacturing, commercial trades and industrial labor to thrive here again."
Along with Clairton and Duquesne, McKeesport is part of a state Enterprise Zone where business owners can qualify for low-interest loans and other incentives for business development and expansion. The three-city program is overseen by the non-profit Redevelopment Authority of the City of Duquesne.
The loan to Vegely is the 44th made through a revolving loan fund administered by the RACD, a spokesman said.
“Our Enterprise Zone program resources are helping many business developments in the cities of Duquesne and McKeesport and Clairton," said Phil Krivacek, mayor of Duquesne and chair of the RACD, in a statement. "Vegely Welding’s expansion is good for Duquesne, McKeesport and the Mon Valley."
According to the company's website, Vegely Welding provides steel fabrication for commercial, industrial and residential properties; pipe repairs; compressed natural gas inspections and repairs for vehicles; truck and trailer repairs and fabrication; crane service; heavy equipment repairs; restaurant and kitchen welding; and construction of fire escapes, awnings and steel buildings.
The company was launched in Whitaker has been headquartered in Duquesne for 28 years, according to a press release.
Funding is administered in all three Enterprise Zone cities by the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Duquesne. For information on Enterprise Zone initiatives in McKeesport, contact Community Development Director A.J. Tedesco at (412) 675-5020, ext. 617, or email alfred.tedesco@mckeesport-pa.gov.
Originally published September 11, 2017.
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