Nucor Corporation's 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.
