Nucor to Build Merchant Bar Mill at Nucor Steel Kankakee, Inc.

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Nov 15, 2017, 08:00 ET

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Nov. 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) announced today that it will build a full-range merchant bar quality (MBQ) mill at its existing bar steel mill located in Bourbonnais, Illinois. The MBQ mill will have an annual capacity of 500,000 tons and is expected to cost $180 million. The project will take approximately two years to complete.

"This new MBQ mill is right in line with our long-term strategy for profitable growth. It takes advantage of our position as a low-cost producer to displace tons currently being supplied by competitors outside the region. It also builds on our market leadership position by further enhancing our product offerings of merchant bar, light shapes and structural angle and channel in markets in the central U.S.," said John Ferriola, Chairman, CEO & President of Nucor. "Combined with our other full-range bar mills, we are now strategically located to supply all markets with high-quality bar products and exceptional service."

The Midwest region is one of the largest markets for MBQ products, and Nucor is ideally situated to take advantage of existing operating and commercial capabilities to meet this regional demand. This project will allow Nucor to fully utilize the Company's existing bar mill by optimizing its melt capacity and infrastructure that is already in place. It will also take advantage of an abundant scrap supply in the region, as well as the Company's commercial footprint in the central United States. Nucor Steel Kankakee, Inc. will continue to be a supplier of quality reinforcing bar products.

"We are very excited to bring new investment and jobs to the Kankakee community and the State of Illinois," said Johnny Jacobs, Vice President & General Manager of Nucor Steel Kankakee. "We would like to thank Governor Rauner, state and local officials, our teammates and the entire community for their support of this project. Nucor's bar mills have been a cornerstone of our company and, as this project demonstrates, they are an important part of Nucor's future."

Nucor and its affiliates are manufacturers of steel products, with operating facilities primarily in the U.S. and Canada. Products produced include: carbon and alloy steel -- in bars, beams, sheet and plate; hollow structural section tubing; electrical conduit; steel piling; steel joists and joist girders; steel deck; fabricated concrete reinforcing steel; cold finished steel; steel fasteners; metal building systems; steel grating; and wire and wire mesh. Nucor, through The David J. Joseph Company, also brokers ferrous and nonferrous metals, pig iron and HBI/DRI; supplies ferro-alloys; and processes ferrous and nonferrous scrap. Nucor is North America's largest recycler.

Certain statements contained in this news release are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. The words "believe," "expect," "project," "will," "should," "could" and similar expressions are intended to identify those forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: (1) competitive pressure on sales and pricing, including competition from imports and substitute materials; (2) the sensitivity of the results of our operations to prevailing steel prices and the changes in the supply and cost of raw materials, including scrap steel; (3) market demand for steel products; and (4) energy costs and availability. These and other factors are discussed in Nucor's regulatory filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including those in Nucor's fiscal 2016 Annual Report on Form 10-K, Item 1A. Risk Factors. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release speak only as of this date, and Nucor does not assume any obligation to update them.

SOURCE Nucor Corporation