Nucor to Add Melt Shop at its Arizona Bar Mill

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Aug 03, 2022, 09:00 ET

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Aug. 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) announced today that it will add a new melt shop at its bar mill in Kingman, Arizona. The new $100 million melt shop will have the capacity to produce 600,000 tons annually and create approximately 140 new full-time jobs paying an average annual wage of approximately $85,000. Construction of the melt shop is expected to take two years pending permit and regulatory approvals.

"This investment in a new melt shop at our Arizona bar mill is part of our strategy to grow our core steelmaking business and will help us maintain our market leadership position in steel bar production," said Leon Topalian, President and Chief Executive Officer of Nucor Corporation. "Adding new melt shop capacity will help meet the growing demand for steel bar products in the Western region, which is one of the fastest growing areas in the U.S."

Wire rod and rebar are used primarily in concrete reinforcement for the construction of roads, buildings, bridges and other structures. Nucor produces steel by recycling scrap metal into new steel products, making the company one of the most sustainable steel producers in the world. Last year, Nucor steel bar products averaged 98.5% recycled content.

In September 2021, Nucor announced its intention to build a new melt shop at one of its existing bar mills in the Western United States. Nucor Steel Kingman is the ideal location for this project because it is a rolling mill that converts steel billets into coiled wire rod and rebar but lacks a melt shop. The Kingman mill currently employs approximately 80 teammates.

"Nucor's new sustainable steel production facility will strengthen Arizona's vibrant manufacturing ecosystem," said Sandra Watson, President and CEO of the Arizona Commerce Authority. "Nucor's new facility will produce quality steel and steel products while maintaining the highest safety and sustainability standards. We are grateful for Nucor's commitment to Kingman, creating high-wage jobs while driving further economic growth in the area."

Nucor has 15 bar mills strategically located across the United States that manufacture a broad range of steel products, including concrete reinforcing bars, hot-rolled bars, rounds, light shapes, structural angles, channels, wire rod and highway products in carbon and alloy steels. Four of the bar mills have a significant focus on manufacturing special bar quality (SBQ) and wire rod products. Steel produced by Nucor bar mills serves numerous end markets, including the agricultural, automotive, construction, energy, furniture, machinery, metal building, railroad, recreational equipment, shipbuilding, heavy truck and trailer market segments. Nucor's bar steel production capacity is estimated at approximately 9,560,000 tons per year.

About Nucor

Nucor and its affiliates are manufacturers of steel and steel products, with operating facilities in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Products produced include: carbon and alloy steel -- in bars, beams, sheet and plate; hollow structural section tubing; electrical conduit; steel racking; steel piling; steel joists and joist girders; steel deck; fabricated concrete reinforcing steel; cold finished steel; precision castings; steel fasteners; metal building systems; insulated metal panels; overhead doors; steel grating; and wire and wire mesh. Nucor, through The David J. Joseph Company, also brokers ferrous and nonferrous metals, pig iron and hot briquetted iron / direct reduced iron; 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 which we expect will or may occur in the future and may impact our business, financial condition and results of operations. The words "anticipate," "believe," "expect," "intend," "project," "may," "will," "should," "could" and similar expressions are intended to identify those forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements reflect the Company's best judgment based on current information, and, although we base these statements on circumstances that we believe to be reasonable when made, there can be no assurance that future events will not affect the accuracy of such forward-looking information. As such, the forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results may vary materially from the projected results and expectations discussed in this news release. 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 pressure from imports and substitute materials; (2) U.S. and foreign trade policies affecting steel imports or exports; (3) the sensitivity of the results of our operations to prevailing market steel prices and changes in the supply and cost of raw materials, including pig iron, iron ore and scrap steel; (4) the availability and cost of electricity and natural gas, which could negatively affect our cost of steel production or result in a delay or cancellation of existing or future drilling within our natural gas drilling programs; (5) critical equipment failures and business interruptions; (6) market demand for steel products, which, in the case of many of our products, is driven by the level of nonresidential construction activity in the United States; (7) impairment in the recorded value of inventory, equity investments, fixed assets, goodwill or other long-lived assets; (8) uncertainties surrounding the global economy, including excess world capacity for steel production, inflation and interest rate changes; (9) fluctuations in currency conversion rates; (10) significant changes in laws or government regulations affecting environmental compliance, including legislation and regulations that result in greater regulation of greenhouse gas emissions that could increase our energy costs, capital expenditures and operating costs or cause one or more of our permits to be revoked or make it more difficult to obtain permit modifications; (11) the cyclical nature of the steel industry; (12) capital investments and their impact on our performance; (13) our safety performance; and (14) the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and any variants of the virus. These and other factors are discussed in Nucor's regulatory filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including those in "Item 1A. Risk Factors" of Nucor's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021. 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, except as may be required by applicable law.

SOURCE Nucor Corporation