Nucor Announces New Development in St. James Parish Project

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Jan 27, 2011, 02:25 ET

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Jan. 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) announced today that the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality has issued an air quality permit for its direct reduced iron making facility that will be located in St. James Parish.

Issuance of the air permit will allow the company to begin the process of ordering equipment and commencing construction immediately. The permit allows for the construction and operation of two plants with a combined annual direct reduced iron (DRI) production of 5,500,000 tons. Initially, Nucor will build one DRI plant with plans to expand to a second facility.

"We are very excited that we will be able to begin moving forward with the construction of this facility. Our nation's economy needs capital investment projects like this that stimulate job growth and contribute to a sustainable economic recovery," said Nucor Chairman and CEO Daniel R. DiMicco. "We would like to thank Governor Bobby Jindal, Economic Development Secretary Stephen Moret, local officials and members of the St. James Parish community for their support of this project."

Direct reduction technology converts natural gas and iron ore pellets into high quality direct reduced iron used by Nucor's steel mills, along with recycled scrap, to produce numerous high quality steel products such as sheet, plate and special bar quality steel. The DRI facility is the first phase of a multi-phase plan that may include a coke plant, blast furnace, pellet plant and steel mill.

The project will create a substantial number of quality jobs. The project's first phase will create 150 permanent Nucor jobs that earn an average annual salary of $75,000, plus benefits; approximately twice the median household income for that part of Louisiana. During peak construction, 500 jobs will be directly created. If the additional phases of the project are constructed, over time Nucor could have a total investment of over $3 billion and increase permanent employment to more than 1,000. To date the company has invested over $50 million to acquire nearly 4,000 acres of property on the Mississippi River for the facility.

Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Nucor and 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; steel joists and joist girders; steel deck; fabricated concrete reinforcing steel; cold finished steel; steel fasteners; metal building systems; light gauge steel framing; steel grating and expanded metal; and wire and wire mesh. Nucor, through The David J. Joseph Company, one of the leading scrap companies in the U.S., 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" 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) 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; (2) market demand for steel products; (3) energy costs and availability; (4) competitive pressure on sales and pricing, including competition from imports and substitute materials; and (5) capital investments and their impact on our performance. These and other factors are outlined in Nucor's regulatory filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including those in Nucor's December 31, 2009 Annual Report on Form 10-K. 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