Nucor to Construct Two Flat-Rolled Galvanizing Lines

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Sep 28, 2022, 09:00 ET

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Sept. 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Nucor Corporation's (NYSE: NUE) Board of Directors approved the construction of a galvanizing line at Nucor Steel Berkeley in South Carolina to support the company's strategy to expand its capabilities and grow participation in the automotive and consumer durables markets. The $425 million investment will create more than 50 new full-time jobs and start-up is expected in mid-2025. Additionally, Nucor's Board of Directors approved a galvanizing line to be constructed in the western United States with details to be announced at a future date.

"These investments support our strategy of shifting our mix to higher margin value-added products and capitalizing on sustainability trends that are driving opportunities for Nucor," said Leon Topalian, Chair, President and Chief Executive Officer of Nucor Corporation. "The new Berkeley line will complement our recent galvanizing expansions at our Hickman and Gallatin operations and will be our eighth wholly-owned galvanizing line."

The new South Carolina galvanizing line will have an annual capacity of approximately 500,000 tons and will be able to produce galvanized steel up to 72 inches wide. Last month, Nucor Steel Berkeley announced a five-year $200 million modernization project, including constructing a new air separation unit to supply industrial gases for the mill's steelmaking operations. The mill currently employs 975 teammates.

The State of South Carolina has offered job development credits to Nucor and assisted with site preparation costs for the project by providing Berkeley County with a grant issued by the SC Department of Commerce Coordinating Council for Economic Development. The state's utility provider, Santee Cooper, similarly has provided a grant to Berkeley County to help cover the costs of facility upgrades related to the expansion. Nucor and Berkeley County also entered into a fee-in-lieu of tax agreement.

"We would like to thank the State of South Carolina, Berkeley County, and Santee Cooper for their support for this project. We are excited to further expand the capabilities to better serve our customers," said Mike Lee, Vice President and General Manager of Nucor Steel Berkeley.

Nucor operates five strategically located sheet mills that utilize thin slab casters to produce flat-rolled steel for automotive, appliance, construction, pipe and tube, and many other industrial and consumer applications. The current capacity of Nucor's sheet mills is estimated at approximately 13 million tons per year. Nucor has a sixth sheet mill under construction in West Virginia and additionally owns a majority stake in California Steel Industries as well as a joint venture automotive galvanizing line in Mexico. All of Nucor's sheet mills are equipped with galvanizing lines and five of them are equipped with cold rolling mills for the further processing of hot-rolled sheet steel.

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.

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 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