Nucor Pumps $400M, 80 New Jobs Into Community

The Paper

The sky overhead was dismal and gray in stark contrast to the bright sunshine and warmth emanating all over southeastern Montgomery County Friday morning.

Just off Nucor Road, at the home of Nucor Steel’s local facility, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, Crawfordsville Mayor Todd Barton and County Commissioner President John Frey gathered with Nucor executives and team members to break ground on a $400 million expansion that will create 80 high-paying jobs

“These are great careers, these aren’t just jobs,” Holcomb told an assembled crowed of approximately 200. “Indiana is the No. 1 steel-producing state in America,” Holcomb said. “Thank you (Nucor) for putting us in that position.”

Nucor plans to invest $290 million in the expansion and modernization of its sheet mill operations at the Crawfordsville plant. This means adding a construction grade continuous galvanizing line and prepaint line to its operations. The galvanizing line will have a capacity of 300,000 tons per year, and the prepaint line will have an annual capacity of 250,000 tons. The upgraded production capabilities will further expand Nucor’s existing operations across North America.

Holcomb was quick to give credit to the local community leaders, as well as Nucor corporate, for making this project a reality.

“This is a pretty special team here,” Holcomb said in reference to Nucor officials, Frey and Barton. “Someone like Mayor Barton gets it and leads the way,” Holcomb added later. “I would call him a global leader. And how lucky is Nucor to have a partner like Commissioner Frey. (This news today is) an amount that’s literally felt and heard around the world.”

Nucor’s Dan Needham, an executive vice president at corporate headquarters and former local general manager, said none of the expansion would be possible with the team in Montgomery County. He explained that $290 million would go toward the 80 new jobs and that the remaining $110 million goes toward capital improvements.

“I know this,” he told the crowd. “A strong community creates a strong business environment.”

Frey agreed.

“This is a huge day for Montgomery County,” he said. “Montgomery County has a national spotlight on us today. We have created the environment here that people, businesses and industry want to be a part of. Job creation is always the goal of local leaders, but job retention is even more important. Keeping our best employers in our community is paramount. This $400 million investment assures that Nucor is not going anywhere.“

Barton was the final speaker and quoted from the book American Steel by Richard Preston, talking about the bare square mile of Montgomery County farm ground that eventually grew into the local giant that Nucor is today.

“It’s impossible to imagine this community without Nucor today,” Barton said. “We celebrate Nucor’s continued commitment and their unmatched corporate leadership.”