Nucor to Expand SBQ Production Capabilities

The steelmaker Nucor Corp., headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., has announced plans to continue to boost its production of special bar quality steel (SBQ) at several of its steel mills in the United States.

To accomplish this, the company has approved $290 million in capital for projects to be completed at the company’s steel mills in Memphis, Tenn.; Norfolk, Neb.; and Darlington, S.C. The expansions are expected to boost SBQ and wire rod capacities by 1 million tons per year.

The investments will include the construction of quality inspection capabilities needed to ensure the products meet the highest qualities for demanding engineered bar applications.

Nucor adds that engineering studies have been finalized, and the company expects to complete each of the projects by the end of 2013 subject to federal, state and local regulatory and other approvals.

"We are excited about these new investments in a strategic and growing segment of our bar mill business. Looking forward, we continue to see strength in the engineered bar markets, driven by energy, automotive, heavy truck and heavy equipment manufacturers,” says Daniel DiMicco, Nucor’s chairman and CEO.

“Furthermore, we believe that manufacturing growth in the U.S. will allow the SBQ markets to continue to grow over the next several years. These investments not only enhance our steel industry leadership status, but most importantly, position Nucor to meet the growing demands of our engineered bar customers. Finally, it is important to understand that we will continue to provide our full range of merchant, structural and rebar products to all of our traditional regional customers through our existing mill network," DiMicco adds.