Nucor’s steel plate mill in Brandenburg, Kentucky, rolled its first steel plate on Friday, the company announced on Tuesday.
Nucor Steel Brandenburg will focus on final commissioning of the mill in the first quarter of 2023 and will ship the first tons to customers during the quarter, the company said in a news release.
“Congratulations to our more than 400 teammates for achieving this important milestone and executing one of the safest mill start-ups in Nucor history, while also delivering the project on time and on budget,” Leon Topalian, Nucor’s chair, president and CEO, said in the release.
“We are looking forward to supplying not only the highest quality steel but also the most sustainable plate products in the world for our nation’s military, infrastructure, heavy equipment, offshore wind, and other markets.”
Announced in March 2019, Nucor broke ground on the $1.7 billion project in October 2020. Once completed, approximately 1.5 million square feet will be under roof in the Buttermilk Falls Industrial Park along the Ohio River. The facility will be able to produce 1.2 million tons of finished steel plate products annually.
“We would like to thank the Governor’s Office, officials with the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, and local officials in Brandenburg and Meade County for their incredible support of this project from start to finish,” Johnny Jacobs, vice president and general manager of Nucor Steel Brandenburg said in the release.
“We are proud to bring high-quality manufacturing jobs to the Commonwealth of Kentucky and look forward to being part of the Brandenburg community for many decades.”
Last year, Nucor Corp. announced its plans to build a new sheet steel mill on a 1,300-acre site at Apple Grove, along W.Va. 2 and the Ohio River about 28 miles north of downtown Huntington.
Nucor is not only the largest steel producer in the U.S., it also is the country’s largest recycler.
