Nucor Corporation announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Summit Utility Structures LLC and related company, Sovereign Steel Manufacturing LLC, producers of metal poles and other steel structures for utility infrastructure and highway signage.
These companies will become part of a new business unit, Nucor Towers & Structures, serving the utility, transportation and telecommunication sectors. In a press release, the company said that while the acquired companies are ideally suited to service the markets in the Northeast part of the US, Nucor's plan is to establish a nationwide footprint able to service all customers throughout North America.
The company said the market for utility infrastructure has been “historically stable and is expected to enter a phase of accelerated growth due to the replacement of aging infrastructure, growth and migration of population, a focus on increasing electric grid reliability, and an increased penetration of renewable energy and energy storage.” Additionally, the transition to 5G and the increased consumption of wireless data support strong market trends for telecommunication towers, Nucor said, adding that the highway signage market is also continuing to see strength and is expected to benefit as departments of transportation begin to implement the recently signed federal infrastructure bill.
Chad Utermark, Executive Vice President of New Markets and Innovation, commented, "The creation of Nucor Towers & Structures strongly complements our plate capabilities while also adding a new dimension to our arsenal of value-added downstream products such as joists and deck, hollow structural section tubes, metal buildings, insulated metal panels, racking systems, piling and foundation solutions, and shortly, overhead doors."