Nucor Steel teammates and several local and state officials, including Gov. Eric Holcomb, gathered Friday for a groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate the company’s $400 million steel mill modernization and expansion project.
Nucor plans to make the investment over the next five years at its Crawfordsville site.
An investment of $290 million will be used to add a construction grade continuous galvanizing line and a pre-paint line to its operations at 4537 Nucor Road. The galvanizing line will have a capacity of 300,000 tons per year, and the pre-paint line will have an annual capacity of 250,000 tons. The project entails constructing a new complex for the two lines. The new lines will add 80 full-time, high-way positions to Montgomery County.
The remainder of the investment will be used to upgraded production capabilities at the existing mill.
Launched in 1989, Nucor Steel Indiana was Nucor’s first steel sheet mill. The company later pioneered its electric arc furnace thin-slab casting at its Crawfordsville mill and has since continued to invest in advanced sheet steel products and technologies. Nucor operates several sheet mills that utilize thin slab casters throughout North America.
Nucor employs nearly 31,000 teammates at its locations throughout North American, including 2,500 teammates in Indiana and 750 teammates in Crawfordsville.
“The groundbreaking we are celebrating today builds on the company’s history,” said Nathan Fraser, vice president and general manager. “Our modernization project is about expanding the capabilities of our Crawfordsville mill to meet the needs of our customers today and in the future, as well as create opportunities for our team to compete in those markets. The investment here is part of Nucor’s overall strategy to grow the core and expand the types of products we can offer customers across Nucor.”
Dan Needham, an executive vice president with Nucor’s corporate team, returned to Crawfordsville for the historic day. Previously Needham served as controller and
general manager at the Crawfordsville mill. He acknowledged the company’s success can be contributed to the unrelenting desire of local teammates to deliver the next chapter of Nucor’s great story.
“It’s the not resting on your laurels,” he said. “That’s why we are here today to celebrate the beginning of that next chapter.”
Needham added that Nucor changed the steel industry forever in Crawfordsville in 1989.
“Before Crawfordsville no other company had made commercially viable hot roll and cold roll sheet before, we were told that mill will never succeed, and it will also bring down Nucor. We didn’t believe that for a second ... Our Indiana teammates have been proving the skeptics wrong day in and day out for over three decades.”
Nucor is now the largest producer of steel and steel products in America. Its arc furnaces turned more than 22 million tons of scrap into new steel last year, making the company the largest recyclers of any type in the Western hemisphere and one of the top five recyclers in the world.
“Nucor could not exist without the community,” Needham said. “Montgomery County is one of the best ... with its shared values of hard work, determination, and teamwork. That’s why we came back and doubled the capacity of this mill in 1993 and why we are coming back 30 years later and investing $400 million in this upgrade.”
Needham also thanked the state of Indiana for contributing to the company’s success, calling Indiana a champion for manufacturing.
“Manufacturers in Indiana directly contribute over $100 billion into the Indiana economy every year,” he noted.
Holcomb took his turn at the podium to offer praise.
“This team is pretty special and has a lot to celebrate,” Holcomb said. “This is historic, what a trajectory. To think about what you have pioneered here, the different techniques and technologies and innovations that have been borne out of getting the job done and becoming the industry standard.”
He acknowledged that Indiana is the number one steel producing state in America, with 28% coming from the Hoosier state.
“We had $22 billion in capital investment last year, and that was breaking our previous record of $8.7 billion, and we’ve done over $4.5 billion already this year,” Holcomb said. “Our pipeline is fuller this year than last year and that means we need more steel, and your customers around the country and around the world need more steel, so you bet we will supply you so you can supply your customers.”
Nucor’s presence will never be taken for granted, he added.
Montgomery County Commissioner John Frey echoed the governor’s sentiments.
“This is a huge day for Montgomery County,” he said. “We have a national spotlight on us today. We have created the environment that people, business, and industry want to be a part of.”
Job creation is always the goal, but so is job retention.
“Keeping our best employers in the community is paramount,” Frey said. “This $400 million investment assures us that Nucor is not going anywhere.”
Frey added that the county has provided $40 million in incentives and infrastructure improvements for this project.
“We invest in Nucor because Nucor invests in Montgomery County,” he said. “Over the last 35 years Nucor has given millions to local charities and to our schools ... they are a great corporate citizen.”
Crawfordsville Mayor Todd Barton also offered remarks during the ceremony.
“Nucor’s commitment is exceptional,” he said. “It’s hard to believe all this started with wide open fields, big dreams and a massive amount of grit and determination .... Today it’s impossible to imagine this community without Nucor.
“Today we celebrate Nucor’s continued commitment to our community as they break ground on a complex that will not only further solidify their position as an industry leader, but reaffirm their partnership with our community, a partnership of trust, loyalty and unmatched corporate citizenship for which we all are incredibly grateful.”
