Pittsburgh-based metals manufacturer Allegheny Technologies Inc. said it will invest about $325 million to build a facility in Rowley in Tooele County, and is set to employ 150 people earning an average of more than $45,000 annually.

Just a few weeks ago, Utah offered the company an incentive worth as much as $3.25 million to expand in Tooele County. The incentive, in the form of a tax rebate, was approved by the Governor's Office of Economic Development (GOED) Board. It provided a partial refund of taxes the company would pay in Utah over a 10-year period.

The Tooele County plant will produce titanium sponge, a raw material used to produce titanium alloys. Such alloys are used to manufacture jet engines and engine spare parts, along with medical devices such as artificial hips and knees. The plant will have an annual capacity of 24 million pounds of titanium sponge.

Company spokesman Dan Greenfield declined to talk about other sites the company was considering or what specifically made the company decide to build in Tooele County. "Utah and Tooele County have a favorable business environment. Both appear very interested in new high-paying jobs," he said.

Greenfield alluded to the fact that Allegheny was attracted to Rowley by its proximity to a related company.

That company could be Magnesium Corp. of America, or Magcorp, which operates a plant in Rowley that condenses magnesium from the Great Salt Lake's briny waters. Magnesium is a metal used to produce titanium.

Construction of the new Utah facility is set to begin early next year, Greenfield said. If that timetable remains on track, hiring and training could begin midway through 2008, with production set to begin late that year.

Allegheny, with revenues of $3.54 billion last year, is one of the largest metals producers worldwide. It has about 9,300 employees worldwide and a presence in about 12 states, including Oregon, Washington, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Indiana and Connecticut.

GOED board members, in approving the $3.25 million incentive, said the company was worthy of the aid because it would bring a substantial number of high-paying jobs to an area that needs them.

Mike Nelson, recruitment and incentives managing director for the Governor's Office of Economic Development, said most of the 150 positions are full-time and the anticipated yearly wages of $45,000 are more than double the median wage in Tooele County. Nelson said the $325 million capital investment in Rowley is a "huge investment" and will benefit scores of Utah companies involved in its construction and ongoing production.

"It's a great deal for the state," he said.

lesley@sltrib.com