Nucor Steel West Virginia Officially Unveiled In Point Pleasant

Nucor Steel West Virginia was a new brand introduced publicly Wednesday. It’s one that will resonate deeply in the state of West Virginia, John Farris, its vice president and general manager said.

Jim Workman

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WVPB

“It feels good to be able to finally say those four words together publicly,” Farris said.

Nucor, a Charlotte, NC-based manufacturing company, announced plans to build a $2.7 billion steel mill facility near Apple Grove in Mason County at a press conference at Point Pleasant High School. It’s expected to be operational by 2024.

The mill will have the capacity to produce up to three million tons of sheet steel per year for several markets, including automotive, appliance, HVAC, heavy equipment, agricultural, transportation and construction.

Farris also confirmed Nucor is considering building a transloading and processing center in the northern part of the state in order to create a broader logistics network to better serve its customers in the upper Midwest and Northeast regions.

Gov. Jim Justice’s office released a statement on his behalf. The Governor did not attend the presser after receiving a positive PCR test for COVID-19 Tuesday. He is in isolation.

“This is a landmark announcement in the history of our state,” Justice stated. “Nucor’s brand new facility is going to be a key part of West Virginia’s DNA long into the future.”

Nucor is the largest steel producer in the United States and the largest recycler of scrap in North America. In September, Nucor announced plans to build the steel mill in either Ohio, Pennsylvania or West Virginia, according to the Associated Press.

Justice called the facility the “largest economic development project” in state history.

Nucor officials also confirmed the West Virginia facility will be its biggest investment ever.

An economic impact statement for the project approximates a $25 billion realization over a 10-year span.

Nucor employs 28,000 teammates at approximately 300 facilities located primarily in North America, and they’re “among the highest paid and most productive in the steel industry,” according to Nucor.

Ahead of the announcement, Justice called a special session of the legislature this week to establish providing financial incentives and tax credits. Passed by both chambers and dubbed the West Virginia Industrial Advancement Act, the action provides incentives based on investment and employment numbers including $315 million in matching money and 50 percent tax credits against capital investments.

Going forward, the program will be also be available for other large manufacturing facilities willing to locate in West Virginia.

Nucor is expected to provide approximately 800 jobs on the project expected to break ground “mid year (2022)” according to Farris.

An estimated 1,000 construction jobs would also be created over the next two years as the facility is built.

The project could be completed by Dec. 31, 2025 if plans according to the memorandum of understanding between the state and Nucor remain unchanged.

Of the nearly $3 billion already promised for the facility, Farris said “that is just the start,” of investment dollars in West Virginia.

Dependents of Nucor have been awarded more than $110 million in educational scholarships over three decades. Farris committed to carry on investments in the families of West Virginians as well. He said he has meetings set up with officials from Marshall University, West Virginia State University and several community and technical colleges in the coming weeks.