Nucor Corp.’s second galvanizing line at its Berkeley County steel mill is running.
In third-quarter results released Oct. 26, Chair and CEO Leon Topalian listed “the recent start-up of our second galvanizing line at Nucor Steel Berkeley” among the company’s milestones for the year. A presentation for Nucor’s Oct. 27 earnings call said the line began production earlier in October and adds capabilities to serve automotive customers in the Southeast.
“These projects, together with other recent investments, are expanding Nucor’s capabilities and strengthening our position in attractive markets,” Topalian said in the release, referring to the Berkeley line and a new sheet mill in West Virginia.
A galvanizing line coats sheet steel with zinc to protect it from rust. When Nucor approved the Berkeley line in September 2022, the company put its cost at $425 million and said it would make about 500,000 tons a year of galvanized steel up to 72 inches wide for the automotive and consumer durables markets, SteelOrbis reported at the time. It was expected to create more than 50 jobs and start up in mid-2025.
The schedule slipped. Nucor’s July investor presentation said equipment commissioning was under way and production would start in the fall, Charleston Business Report reported Oct. 10. The new line joins an existing galvanizing line at the mill.
The startup came in a strong quarter for the Charlotte-based steelmaker. Nucor reported third-quarter net earnings of $1.32 billion, or $5.80 per diluted share, on net sales of $11.25 billion. That compared with $607 million, or $2.63 per share, a year earlier.
Topalian also credited “robust demand across key end markets” for about $2.7 billion in free cash flow through the first nine months of the year.
