Charlotte-based steel giant Nucor grows again with $425 million SC plant expansion

Charlotte-based Nucor Corp. is expanding again. The steel company will invest $425 million and add 50 full-time jobs at its South Carolina manufacturing facility.

The news comes less than a month after Nucor said it would invest $200 million over five years on a modernization project at the same sheet and beam Berkeley County mill.

Nucor’s latest expansion will add a galvanizing line to expand the manufacturing of corrosion-resistant products at the 1455 Old Hagan Ave. in Huger plant, according to a news release from S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster’s office Tuesday. Huger is near the South Carolina coast, about 30 miles north of Charleston.

It will be Nucor’s eighth wholly-owned galvanizing line, according to a company news release Tuesday. Nucor is one of the largest manufacturers of steel and steel products in North America.

The new South Carolina flat-rolled galvanizing line will have an annual capacity of about 500,000 tons and be able to produce galvanized steel up to 72 inches wide, Nucor said. The project is expected to be completed by mid-2025.

“Anytime a longtime existing industry commits to an expansion, that’s positive proof that a lot of people are doing things right,” Berkeley County Supervisor Johnny Cribb said in a statement.

The Coordinating Council for Economic Development approved a $400,000 grant to Berkeley County to help with site preparation costs, according to McMaster’s office.

Nucor also received job development credits from South Carolina and the state’s utility provider, Santee Cooper, provided a grant to Berkeley County to help cover the costs of facility upgrades related to the expansion, according to a company news release. Nucor and Berkeley County also entered into a fee-in-lieu of tax agreement.

Nucor Steel Berkeley has 975 employees, according to the company.

Nucor’s Board of Directors also approved a galvanizing line to be constructed in the western U.S. with details to be announced later, according to the company.

Other Nucor expansions

Nucor Steel Berkeley is among a growing list of expansion moves by Nucor over the past year.

▪ Last month, Nucor said it will build an air separation unit to supply industrial gases to the steelmaking sheet and beam mill at the same Berkeley mill. The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2024.

▪ In early August, Nucor said it is adding a $100 million melt shop to its Kingman, Arizona, bar mill. It will create 140 full-time jobs with an average salary of $85,000. The project is expected to take two years.

▪ In June, Nucor completed its $3 billion acquisition of C.H.I. Overhead Doors from KKR & Co. Inc. C.H.I. manufactures overhead door products for homes and businesses, as well as rolling steel and rubber doors for commercial and industrial customers.

Also in June, Nucor agreed to acquire Summit Utility Structures and a related company, Sovereign Steel Manufacturing, producers of metal poles and other steel structures for utility infrastructure and highway signage.

▪ In April, Nucor shared a $350 million expansion plan to add 180 jobs at its third rebar micro mill in Lexington, N.C.

The same month, Nucor said it is investing $15 million in NuScale Power, a developer of small modular reactor nuclear plants.

Nucor also acquired steel racking manufacturer Elite Storage Solutions for $75 million with locations in Monroe, Georgia; and Chandler, Arizona.

▪ In January, Nucor said it will build a $2.7 billion sheet mill in Mason County, West Virginia, with capacity to produce 3 million tons of steel each year.

▪ Last fall, Nucor said it would add a blast and prime line at its $1.7 billion steel plate mill under construction in Brandenburg, Kentucky, and create 400 jobs. The project is expected to open later this year.

▪ In August 2021, Nucor acquired two insulated metal panel brands from Cary-based Cornerstone Building Brands for $1 billion, the Observer reported. The deal added 830 employees from seven Cornerstone manufacturing sites, three offices and a product center.