WILLIAMSPORT, LYCOMING COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — The former JW Aluminum Plant in Lycoming County is getting a new life and new owner.

The plant was purchased by another company and will bring new employment opportunities to the area. The plant has been closed since January, but this new purchase will have it up and running again in just a few months and bring back even more jobs than they’ve had before.

The signs outside still say JW Aluminum, but that won’t be for long. The plant has a new owner, Chance Aluminum Corp.

“We’ll try to fully utilize the machinery capacity and also, we want to upgrade the machinery and invest in new machinery,” AA Metals, Inc. president/CEO Dr. Jack Cheng said.

AA Metal Inc. is no stranger to the aluminum industry. They operate in countries like China and Turkey and throughout North America. Dr. Cheng says now the plan is to bring more jobs to the states.

“So we expect we can bring about 100 jobs within 12 months,” Dr. Cheng said.

That’s about 40 more jobs than the plant previously had. Many of the machines have been maintained so they expect to reopen in October and will create even more aluminum products.

“It was underutilized so the only product line was foil, aluminum foil but we can produce other products like coils,” Dr. Cheng said.

Chance Aluminum has partnered with the Lycoming Chamber of Commerce to help get the operation running.

“There are things that involve the city, the county, other state agencies, local agencies. Being able to get them connected to those right resources and also from the perspective of being able to make the connections for hiring,” Williamsport/Lycoming Chamber of Commerce president/CEO Jason Fink said.

As a county with many manufacturing businesses, Fink says it will not only create more jobs, but also benefit the economy.

“There’s a lot of local business that will be generated because of the fact that they do a lot of supplies that they need to get here locally for this operation. So, it’s a good impact for our community,” Fink said.

They’re also looking to rehire those who worked at the plant when it was JW Aluminum.

To learn more about employment, visit the AA Metals website or the Chamber of Commerce’s website.