Nucor 2011 Annual Report Download - page 10

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BAR MILLS
Nucor has 13 bar mills located across the United States that produce concrete reinforcing bars, hot-rolled bars, rods, light shapes,
structural angles, channels and guard rail in carbon and alloy steels. These products have a wide usage serving primarily the
agricultural, automotive, construction, energy, furniture, machinery, metal building, railroad, recreational equipment, shipbuilding,
heavy truck and trailer market segments. The total capacity of the bar mills is approximately 9,110,000 tons per year.
Four of the bar mills were constructed by Nucor between 1969 and 1981. Over the years, Nucor has completed extensive capital
projects to keep these facilities modernized and globally competitive. Nucor acquired the remaining bar mills since 2000.
In 2009, Nucor started up operations at the state-of-the-art SBQ mill in Memphis, Tennessee. The Memphis mill continues to
expand its product offerings and is supplying high-quality steel for use in many demanding customer applications. Complementary
to the product offerings of Nucor’s Nebraska and South Carolina SBQ mills, the Memphis mill has augmented Nucor’s growth in
the automotive, energy, heavy equipment and service center markets. In addition, Nucor has recently announced plans to expand
our SBQ and wire production capabilities by a combined one million tons over the next two years. This $290 million investment
includes projects to be completed at our Memphis, Nebraska and South Carolina bar mills.
In November 2009, Nucor recommissioned the Kingman, Arizona, wire rod and bar mill that we acquired in 2003. Production
began during the second quarter of 2010. With a current annual operating capability of straight-length rebar, coiled rebar and
wire rod of approximately 200,000 tons, Nucor has the ability to increase the annual production to 500,000 tons with minimal
investment. This facility allows Nucor to better serve wire rod and rebar customers in the southwestern U.S. market.
SHEET MILLS
Nucor’s four sheet mills utilize thin slab casters to produce flat-rolled steel for the automotive, appliance, construction, pipe and
tube, and many other industries. Nucor constructed three of the sheet mills between 1989 and 1996, and Nucor’s wholly owned
subsidiary, Nucor Steel Decatur, LLC, purchased substantially all the assets of Trico Steel Company, LLC in 2002. In 2009, Nucor
began operations at the galvanizing facility at the Decatur sheet mill. This line has enabled Nucor to expand the products offered
to the galvanized market and increased the sheet mills’ total coated capacity by one-third. All four of our sheet mills are now fully
equipped with cold rolling mills and galvanizing lines for further processing of hot-rolled sheet. Through strategic investments
and continuous process improvement efforts, Nucor continues to greatly expand our sheet product capabilities and offerings.
During 2012, we are installing a vacuum degasser at Hickman, Arkansas. As the westernmost sheet facility in the United States
with a vacuum degasser, Hickman will be strategically positioned to take advantage of the growing markets in the southwestern
United States and Mexico. We have also recently announced plans to make an investment at the Berkeley, South Carolina, mill.
This investment will provide Berkeley the capability to produce 74-inch wide hot band product, with downstream products being
produced at a finished width of 72 inches.
Nucor also operates two Castrip sheet production facilities. In May 2002, Nucor began operations at our first Castrip facility
in Crawfordsville, Indiana. In 2009, Nucor commissioned our second Castrip production facility in Blytheville, Arkansas. The
Castrip-Arkansas team, supported by the Castrip-Indiana team, is experiencing a successful start-up and continues to make
significant progress. These facilities use the breakthrough technology of strip casting, which involves the direct casting of molten
steel into final shape and thickness without further hot or cold rolling. This process allows for lower capital investment, reduced
energy consumption and smaller scale plants than can be economically built with current technology. This process also reduces
the overall environmental impact of producing steel by generating significantly lower emissions.
Nucor’s total sheet product annual capacity is approximately 11,300,000 tons.
STRUCTURAL MILLS
The structural mills produce wide-flange steel beams, pilings and heavy structural steel products for fabricators, construction
companies, manufacturers and steel service centers. In 1988, Nucor and Yamato Kogyo Co. LTD., one of Japan’s major producers
of wide-flange beams, completed construction of a beam mill located near Blytheville, Arkansas. Nucor owns a 51% interest in
Nucor-Yamato Steel Company. During 1999, Nucor started operations at its wholly owned steel beam mill in South Carolina. Both
mills use a special continuous casting method that produces a beam blank closer in shape to that of the finished beam than
traditional methods. Current annual production capacity of our two structural mills is approximately 3,700,000 tons.
PLATE MILLS
Nucor operates two plate mills. In 2000 Nucor completed construction of its first plate mill, located in North Carolina, and in 2004
Nucor’s wholly owned subsidiary, Nucor Steel Tuscaloosa, Inc., purchased substantially all the assets of Corus Tuscaloosa. Our
mills produce plate for manufacturers of barges, bridges, heavy equipment, rail cars, refinery tanks, ships, wind towers and other