Prudential Steel Ltd. of Canada sent company representatives to the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley recently to look at real estate and port operations.
The company, which is based in Calgary, Alberta, makes round and square pipe and is looking to expand into the U.S. market, according to Sally J. Ledgerwood, executive director of the Lewis-Clark Economic Development Association.
Oregon Steel of Portland is one of the company's suppliers of raw material, which it would barge upstream to the valley, Ledgerwood said.
The Canadian firm is not dependent on material from a North Carolina steel company considering building a steel mill in Lewiston. Prudential's decision to locate in the valley would be independent from that of NUCOR Corp. of Charlotte, N.C., Ledgerwood said.
She has been working with Prudential since May, when The Washington Water Power Co.'s economic development program provided her with the business lead, she said. A WWP representative visited the steel maker at Calgary to see the company.
Prudential probably would employ about 20 local residents in the beginning, but would have the potential to grow slowly, Ledgerwood said.
The company, seeking a 20-acre site, was shown real estate at the ports of Lewiston, Clarkston and Whitman County, as well as some private property in Lewiston, she said. Economic development representatives from Lewiston also are working on the project.
''A crane is real important to them,'' Ledgerwood said of the company. Prudential also may be looking at other areas, but has contacted transportation companies about working out of the valley, Ledgerwood said.
She couldn't say when the company may make a decision, but ''these are folks who are seriously interested.''