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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Nucor Plans Manufacturing Mill in Meade County, Kentucky

03/29/2019
Nucor Corp. plans to build a $1.35 billion steel plate manufacturing mill in Meade County, Kentucky. The company plans to create more than 400 full-time jobs in the coming years.

The 1.5-million-square-foot facility will sit on 900 acres in the Buttermilk Falls Industrial Park along the Ohio River in Brandenburg.

With a production capacity of 1.2 million tons per year, the steel mill will enhance Nucor’s ability to serve customers throughout the region and meet needs for the company’s customers nationwide. Nucor executives anticipate construction will begin by year-end with the facility opening by 2022. The project could create as many as 2,000 construction jobs.

“The new plate mill will grow our company’s already significant presence in Kentucky. With this announcement, Nucor is currently investing more than $2 billion in our Kentucky operations,” said John Ferriola, Chairman, CEO and President of Nucor. “We would like to thank Governor Bevin, officials with the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development and local officials in Brandenburg and Meade County for their help and support with this project.”

The announcement comes just six months after the company announced a $650 million, 70-job phase II expansion at Nucor Steel Gallatin, a mill producing flat-rolled coils in Ghent. That project promises to nearly double the mill’s annual capacity to approximately 3 million tons. Phase I of the Gallatin plant’s expansion, announced in May 2017, included a new building to house galvanizing and pickling lines. That phase, which is expected to open in the first half of this year, represents a $176 million investment and the addition of 75 new full-time jobs.

To encourage the investment and job growth in the community, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority preliminarily approved the company for tax incentives up to $30 million through the Kentucky Business Investment program.

The performance-based incentive allows a company to keep a portion of the new tax revenue it generates over the agreement term through corporate income tax credits and wage assessments by meeting job and investment targets. Additionally, KEDFA approved Nucor for up to $10 million in tax incentives through the Kentucky Enterprise Initiative Act. KEIA allows approved companies to recoup Kentucky sales and use tax on construction costs, building fixtures, equipment used in research and development and electronic processing.

Nucor has two performance-based incentive agreements from KEDFA for the current expansions in Gallatin County. Nucor is also eligible to receive resources from the Kentucky Skills Network.

David Pace, Meade County-Brandenburg Economic Development Chairman said, “We owe huge thank you to Nucor for entrusting Brandenburg and Meade County with being the home of this hugely important project.”

“The mill’s announcement today further underscores the years of foresight and preparation by our board, city and county leaders, utility partners and the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development. Collectively we’ve worked to establish Buttermilk Falls Industrial Park and advance it over the years with infrastructure, utilities and due diligence that made it desirable for a great partner like Nucor,” he added.

“Nucor is a proven, longtime corporate citizen in Kentucky and a key partner in our world-class primary metals industry,” Governor Matt Bevin said. “We are grateful for the company’s decision to construct a new state-of-the-art mill in Brandenburg. This massive project will transform the region’s economy and provide high-quality jobs to Kentuckians for generations to come. Thanks to Nucor’s strong commitment to the commonwealth, we are taking another momentous step toward solidifying our reputation as America’s engineering and manufacturing center of excellence.”

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