Nucor invests in Arkansas EAF mill

Nucor Corp., Charlotte, North Carolina, has announced that Nucor-Yamato Steel Co., a joint venture between Nucor and Japan-based Yamato Kogyo Co. Ltd., is installing a $75 million quench and self-tempering process to be used on 1.4 million tons of steel annually at the mill. The project at the mill in Blytheville, Arkansas, is expected to be completed in the second half of 2016.

Upon completion, the mill will be able to produce ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) A913 Grade 65 and Grade 70 structural sections with what Nucor calls a “high-strength, low-alloy grade chemistry that provides excellent weldability while achieving good toughness at low temperatures.”

The steel beam products made at Blytheville’s electric arc furnace (EAF) steel mill consist of 99.8 percent ferrous scrap, according to an April 2015 fact sheet prepared by Nucor for participants in the United States Green Building Council’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program.

“This strategic investment will keep Nucor-Yamato Steel the market leader in the wide-flange beam market servicing our customers across the United States,” said John Ferriola, Nucor chairman, president and CEO, at a ceremony where he was joined by Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson. “This investment will enable Nucor-Yamato, its more than 900 teammates and families, and supply chain to remain a vibrant part of Northeast Arkansas today and well into the future.”

Common applications for the material will include gravity columns for use in high-rise buildings, long-span trusses for projects such as convention centers or stadiums and for projects where seismic design is a critical factor, says Nucor.

“We are excited that Nucor is making this significant investment here in Arkansas,” said Hutchinson. “Nucor has been an important part of Arkansas’s economy for almost three decades and this investment shows its continued commitment to our state.”