Nucor begins operations at Kentucky EAF mill

Charlotte, North Carolina-based Nucor Corp. has announced that its electric arc furnace (EAF) mill in Brandenburg, Kentucky, began operations Oct. 20. Nucor says that mill’s metallurgical furnace also has begun operations.

According to Nucor CEO Leon Topalian, the EAF will produce 1.2 million short tons per year of steel plate products. The company adds that the mill was expected to output the first plate by the end of the year. When Nucor announced plans for the mill in Brandenburg, it had planned to invest about $1.35 billion in the facility.

Nucor says its Brandenburg mill is “well-positioned for solar and wind energy projects, especially offshore projects,” which it says, “few steel mills in the world can compete with.”

Nucor says it also expects its expanded Nucor Steel Gallatin, its flat-rolled sheet steel mill in Ghent, Kentucky, to reach full production by the first quarter of 2023. The company had initially invested $650 million to expand that facility in 2018.