US-based steelmaker Nucor Corporation has announced that it will build a new plate mill in Brandenburg, Kentucky, located along the Ohio River in the southwest of Louisville. According to Nucor, it will invest $1.35 billion in the new mill, which will have a capacity of 1.2 million mt per year.
The new plate mill will strengthen Nucor's plate product portfolio, giving the company the ability to produce 97 percent of the products demanded in the domestic plate market, including the specialty higher-margin products. The mill will produce cut-to-length, coiled, heat-treated, and discrete plate ranging from 60 inches to 160 inches wide. The selected location on the Ohio River will give Nucor logistical advantages in sourcing raw materials and serving customers throughout the Midwest. Nucor currently operates plate mills in North Carolina, Alabama and Texas.
Nucor has two additional major investment projects underway at its Gallatin sheet mill in Kentucky. Nucor Steel Gallatin's new galvanizing line will be operational during the second quarter of this year, while its project to increase Gallatin's hot rolled coil capacity at expanded widths of up to 73 inches is expected to come online during 2021. The new plate mill and the projects at Nucor Steel Gallatin represent more than $2 billion in investments in the state of Kentucky.
The new plate mill in Kentucky is expected to be fully operational in 2022.