Nucor to Build New Transmission Tower Production Plant in Alabama

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Feb 22, 2023, 12:35 ET

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) announced today that the Company's Towers & Structures business unit will build a new state-of-the-art transmission tower production plant in Decatur, Alabama. The new plant will be located adjacent to the Nucor Steel Decatur sheet steel mill and will be the first of two new tower production plants the Company plans to build. The project is expected to create 200 full-time jobs.

"We are very excited to be building this new tower production plant in Alabama, where Nucor has a long history and presence throughout the state," said Leon Topalian, Chair, President and Chief Executive Officer of Nucor Corporation. "As America's most diverse industrial manufacturer of steel products, we will be able to efficiently supply this new plant, helping to ensure that our nation's critical energy and digital infrastructure is built with the cleanest, most sustainable steel in the world."

The plant in Alabama will be highly automated, utilizing efficient straight-line production, and will also include advanced hot-dip galvanizing operations. These state-of-the-art features will increase Nucor Towers & Structures' capabilities to provide engineered solutions for utility infrastructure and construction projects. The Company continues to evaluate potential sites in the U.S. Midwest to build a second tower production plant.

"Alabama offers world-class companies like Nucor all the advantages they need to find success, including a skilled workforce, a pro-business environment and a solid support system," Governor Ivey said. "This investment project is a win for Nucor and Decatur, and for all of Alabama."

Last year, Nucor formed its Nucor Towers & Structures business unit when it acquired Summit Utility Structures LLC, a producer of metal poles and other steel structures for utility infrastructure. In December, the Company announced plans to establish a nationwide footprint by building two new tower production plants for a combined investment of $270 million dollars.

Several factors are driving increased demand for utility infrastructure, including grid hardening, renewable energy projects, building a nationwide network of EV chargers, natural disasters and replacements, and population growth. We expect that federal government support for electric infrastructure and clean energy projects in the recent Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and Inflation Reduction Act will drive additional demand as they provide nearly half a trillion dollars in funding and incentives to build out our clean energy future.

"We appreciate the support we have received from the state and local officials in Alabama, including Governor Kay Ivey, Alabama Department of Commerce, State of Alabama State Industrial Development Authority, Morgan County Economic Development Association, Morgan County Economic Development Cooperative District, Morgan County, Decatur Industrial Development Board, City of Decatur, Decatur-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce, Hartselle Chamber of Commerce, and the Tennessee Valley Authority said Laurent De Mey, General Manager of Nucor Towers & Structures. "We are excited to launch our expansion of this new Nucor business in the State of Alabama."

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 and its affiliates, 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.

Forward-Looking Statements
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 general market conditions, and in particular, 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 and volatility 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; (14) our ability to integrate businesses we acquire; and (15) the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, any variants of the virus, and any other similar pandemic or public health situation. These and other factors are discussed in Nucor's regulatory filings with the United States 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