Nucor Corporation will build a full-range merchant bar quality (MBQ) mill at its existing bar steel mill located in Bourbonnais, Illinois. The MBQ mill will have an annual capacity of 500,000 tons and is expected to cost $180 million. The project will take approximately two years to complete.
“This new MBQ mill is right in line with our long-term strategy for profitable growth. It takes advantage of our position as a low-cost producer to displace tons currently being supplied by competitors outside the region. It also builds on our market leadership position by further enhancing our product offerings of merchant bar, light shapes and structural angle and channel in markets in the central U.S.,” said John Ferriola, chairman, chief executive officer & president of Nucor.
The Midwest region is one of the largest markets for MBQ products, and Nucor is ideally situated to take advantage of existing operating and commercial capabilities to meet this regional demand.
This project will allow Nucor to fully utilize the company’s existing bar mill by optimizing its melt capacity and infrastructure that is already in place. It will also take advantage of an abundant scrap supply in the region, as well as the company’s commercial footprint in the central U.S. Nucor Steel Kankakee, Inc. will continue to be a supplier of quality reinforcing bar products.
Published in the December 2017 Edition of American Recycler News