Nucor Acquiring Qualitech Steel

Nucor Corp. has entered into an agreement to purchase substantially all of the assets of Qualitech Steel SBQ LLC for $37 million.

The agreement is subject to satisfactory resolution by Nucor of due diligence, regulatory approvals, tax matters, and utility, equipment and other contracts.

The timing for start-up of this facility will depend upon how quickly regulatory approvals can be obtained.  Nucor is in discussions with Mitsubishi Corp. concerning an equity participation in the venture. 

Mitsubishi would assist in providing technology to allow the venture to quickly produce high quality special bar quality steel suitable for the most demanding applications. 

"The addition of the Qualitech assets will be a strong complement to our long products strategy and will make Nucor a significant participant in the special bar quality steel market," said Dan DiMicco, Nucor's vice chairman, president and CEO.

The Qualitech SBQ Bar Mill facility is located in Pittsboro, Indiana and has an annual capacity of about 500,000 tons.

Over the past several quarters Nucor has been in an acquisition mode. Late last month Nucor acquired the assets of Birmingham Steel for around $65 million. Earlier this year the company also acquired the assets of Trico Steel, an idled steel mill in Decatur, Ala. That facility, when operating at full capacity, is capable of producing around 1.9 million tons of steel products a year.