American steel giant Nucor Corporation has announced plans to build a $164 million 240kt/yr tube mill in the Midwest of the USA, the largest consuming region for steel and steel products. Products from the new facility will capitalize on investments already made by the company in the region including a plate mill, galvanizing line and hot roll expansion. According to Nucor, the new tube mill is a continuation of the company's focus on growth and commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship. The new mill will be operational in two years, it is claimed.
Leon Topalian, president & chief executive officer of Nucor, said that adding a tube mill in the Midwest will allow the company to leverage recent investments made and strengthen its market leadership as a low-cost producer of steel products. "Building this tube mill puts us in a great position to serve the largest consuming regions of the US for hollow structural section tubing and solar energy."
The new tube mill will have the capacity to produce approximately 250kt of hollow structural section (HSS) tubing, mechanical steel tubing and galvanized solar torque tube, which will increase Nucor's product offerings for construction, infrastructure and renewable energy in the expanding solar market in the United States.
Nucor's Tubular Products (NTP) Group was formed in 2016 when Nucor entered the tube market with the acquisitions of Southland Tube, Independence Tube Corp. and Republic Conduit. Today, NTP consists of eight tubular facilities that are strategically located in close proximity to Nucor's sheet mills as they are a consumer of hot-rolled coil. The NTP Group produces HSS steel tubing, mechanical steel tubing, piling, sprinkler pipe, heat-treated tubing and electrical conduit. Total annual NTP capacity is approximately 1.36Mt.