A minority-owned steel coating manufacturer focused on improving systems that can filter viruses from indoor air, is building a manufacturing plant in the Arizona town of Sahuarita, south of Tucson.
The company, Steel Jupiter, said its 13,000-square-foot manufacturing, research and development facility at the Sahuarita Advanced Manufacturing and Technology Center (SAMTEC) will be operational by the end of this year with 15 new jobs to start with.
Steel Jupiter says that its origins trace to early 2020 with a collaboration between researchers and industry experts from the U.S. and Europe looking for ways to prepare for and manage pandemics. Steel Jupiter was one result of that brainstorming and is focused on commercializing a proprietary coating technology that can be applied to masks, respirators or other air filtration media.
“Steel Jupiter’s mission is to help make indoor air as free from viruses as possible,” said Carlos Tellez, founder, chairman and president of Steel Jupiter, in a statement. “Our product, developed by leading scientists, has the promise to significantly improve the effectiveness of HVAC filters and masks in filtering viruses from the air we breathe.”
Tellez said Steel Jupiter evaluated other locations and found SAMTEC to be a great facility and location for the company. The center has already attracted companies such as PowerPHotonic and Leonardo Electronics.
The company said that Arizona was an attractive place to set up shop because of the technical resources at the state’s universities — in particular, the University of Arizona’s virus testing capabilities that can serve to provide independent testing of Steel Jupiter’s product.
Arizona was also praised for its workforce and for the growth of innovation and business in the state.
Joe Snell, president and CEO of regional economic development group Sun Corridor Inc., said that the new facility will have an economic impact of $27 million over the next five years.
“The ripple effect of these high-paying jobs advancing Steel Jupiter’s technology will be felt across southern Arizona,” Snell said in a statement.
