Nucor to increase Decatur mill capacity

US steelmaker Nucor will spend $4mn to upgrade the casters at its Decatur, Alabama, sheet mill, boosting flat-rolled capacity by 80,000 st/yr.

The company is installing an additional segment to each of the mill's two casters, which turn liquid steel into semi-finished solids that can be rolled into finished products. The improved casting speed will support the projected increase in production capacity.

The electric arc furnace (EAF) at the facility has an existing annual capacity of 2.5mn st/yr of flat-rolled steel, while the cold mill has 700,000 st/yr of annealing capacity.

The Charlotte, North Carolina-based company disclosed the investment in a tax abatement application submitted to the city of Decatur.

No timeline for the upgrades was provided. Nucor did not respond to a request for comment.

The city's industrial development board voted last week to approve more than $100,000 in property tax abatements over a 10-year period. Nucor's total state and local tax incentives related to the investment total an estimated $200,000 over the same period.

Nucor's sheet mills shipped 2.7mn st of steel in the first quarter, accounting for the largest share of steel mill segment shipments at 43pc.