YORKVILLE, Ohio -- Union officials confirmed that they met with Esmark representatives on Friday and are scheduled to talk again next week about a labor agreement.

Esmark's owner Jim Bouchard hosted a public event outside the Yorkville plant to announce plans for the facility after the sale was finalized on Thursday. The sale also confirmed a joint venture between Esmark and TCC Steel to run Ohio Coatings Co.

"If we all work together, we can grow this thing," said Bouchard.

Bouchard announced that Esmark hopes to recall approximately 160 union workers by January 2013.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich attended the public announcement touting a program he created called Jobs Ohio. Kasich said Jobs Ohio paved the way to finalize the sale of the Yorkville facility.

"This is the man taking the risk," said Kasich. "He didn't have to do that but he decided to do it. So he deserves a round of applause. We're just getting the heck out of the way and bringing in a little common sense, so thank him."

Bouchard explained some of the challenges Esmark will need to overcome to see success at the Yorkville facility.

"When I saw the Yorkville sign and then you see the size of this mill, to be honest with you it scares you," said Bouchard. "To have a facility of this size, without a pound of steel in it, without an ounce of lubricant in it, without the electricity on to bring it back to life, it's a scary proposition."

Plus, Esmark will need to come to an agreement on a contract with United Steelworkers Local 1223 before the facility can open. Local 1223 President Jerry Conners expressed concern Thursday and accused USW District Director Dave McCall of agreeing to a tentative agreement without consulting with local steelworkers.

"If (they) feel that way, then I'm sorry and we apologize," said Bouchard. "It wasn't our intent. Our intent was that they had some big negotiations going on and it was taking up a lot of their time. So we wanted to get that completed. We don't want to go over Jerry's head. This will be the local people that we are dealing with, and if he feels that way, then I apologize personally on behalf of the company. It's taken a lot of work to get to here. The environmental thing threw us back."