The recycled-content steelmaker will spend nearly $60 million to add capabilities at a Vulcraft facility in Indiana.
Nucor Corp., Charlotte, North Carolina, has announced it will invest $59 million to expand its Vulcraft Indiana manufacturing facility in St. Joe, Indiana. The company’s Vulcraft subsidiary makes steel joists, girders and decking used in the construction sector.
According to Nucor, the investment will allow the facility to add capabilities to produce steel grating products.
“We are pleased to be growing our Vulcraft business in Indiana with this investment to better serve our customers and strengthen our downstream production capabilities, advancing our mission to ‘Grow the Core and Expand Beyond,’” says John Hollatz, an executive vice president at Nucor.
“Vulcraft is where Nucor got its start in the steel industry, and it remains an important part of our growth today,” adds Hollatz. “We appreciate [Indiana] Governor Braun and state and local DeKalb County [Indiana] leaders for their support as we continue to expand our manufacturing footprint in Indiana."
The announcement comes as steel mills in the United States have been operating at or near 80 percent capacity throughout the year, a level considered healthy by observers and one that has led to profitability for Nucor and other recycled-content steelmakers.
In the first full week in August, the U.S. mill capacity rate dipped below 80 percent, and in July, steel buyers increased their requests for imported steel as measured by permit applications.
An analysis released earlier this month by commodities and business information firm Argus finds the import requests may stem from longer lead times and bottlenecks within the American steel supply chain.
“Average mill lead times remained extended across all products as hot-rolled coil (HRC) deliveries remained between 7-to-8 weeks since the beginning of June,” writes the firm in an August 11 e-mail, adding delivery times for some other grades are stretching out to 10 weeks.
Continues Argus, “Market participants expressed increased interest in the import market to supplement limited inventories, following months of constrained domestic supply availability.”
Nucor, whose largest business unit produces steel at a network of electric arc furnace (EAF) mills, likely can supply steel in a more time-efficient manner to its own downstream business units such as Vulcraft.
The company says it acquired Vulcraft in 1962, marking its entrance into the steel industry. From a single facility in South Carolina, Nucor expanded the Vulcraft business and ultimately made the decision to begin producing its own steel, converting ferrous scrap into steel at EAF mills.
Vulcraft Indiana opened in 1972 as Nucor’s fifth Vulcraft facility and today is one of nine Vulcraft locations operating in North America, according to Nucor.
Nucor says this week’s announcement marks its fourth major investment in Indiana in recent years. In 2022, the company announced a $290 million investment to modernize its sheet mill operations in Crawfordsville. The following year, it announced plans to build a $115 million utility infrastructure production facility nearby and invested $28.5 million to build an insulated metal panel production facility in Waterloo, Indiana.
In addition to making steel and steel products, Nucor owns the Cincinnati-based David J. Joseph Co., through which it processes and trades ferrous and nonferrous scrap.