Nucor to construct new galvanizing facility in Alabama

Nucor Corp. announced today that it plans to construct its fourth sheet steel galvanizing facility. The facility will be located at the company's existing sheet mill in Decatur, Ala. Annual capacity will be approximately 500,000 tons, and the facility will have the ability to produce a 72-inch wide sheet. Total cost will be approximately $150 million.

Nucor Steel Decatur, LLC, Nucor's fourth sheet mill, was a bankrupt operation that was purchased and restarted in 2002. In August of 2004, the company purchased a cold mill located next to the original facility. Construction of the galvanizing facility is expected to begin after satisfactory resolution of site location, regulatory approvals, tax matters and various contracts. The company's other sheet galvanizing facilities are located in Indiana, Arkansas, and South Carolina.

"This is an opportunity to expand our galvanizing operations in the Southeast, matching the tremendous growth in that part of the country for sheet steel products," said Dan DiMicco, Nucor's chairman, president and CEO. John Ferriola, executive vice president, stated, "The cold mill has been a successful investment and a new galvanizing line is an obvious next step at our Decatur operations. The automotive market in the Southeast continues to grow and we are positioning ourselves to further service that market as well as other value-added markets."