By Jim Ross
The Herald-Dispatch
Nucor Corp. is counting on its new West Virginia mill’s location in the Ohio Valley to give it better penetration in auto and appliance markets, its executives said in their quarterly conference call on Tuesday.
“We’re on schedule to complete construction of our new mill in West Virginia by year end. Once online, this mill will begin supplying some of the cleanest and most advanced sheet steel in North America, serving automotive, construction and industrial customers,”
Leon Topalian, Nucor’s chairman and CEO, said during the call. Steve Laxton, Nucor’s chief operating officer and chief financial officer, added, “West Virginia will be done at the end of this year, and that team is doing a fantastic job moving that project forward.”
He added that the $4 billion undertaking along W.Va. 2 about 28 miles north of downtown Huntington is “a big, complex mill,” and it will not be contributing to earnings by the end of 2027.
Tuesday morning’s call followed the Monday afternoon release of Nucor’s fourth-quarter and full-year earnings report for 2025. Nucor said it earned $378 million in the fourth quarter compared to $287 million in the same period in 2024. Earnings for the full year totaled $1.744 billion, down from $2.027 billion in 2024. During the call, Topalian and others noted the federal government protecting the domestic steel industry through tariffs and anti-dumping measures.
The mill in Mason County and other new Nucor facilities are coming online as Nucor’s existing mills run at 85% capacity,Topalian said.
Present circumstances “really creates a wonderful time for a ramp up of a new facility in West Virginia. And so we see more opportunities there as well,” he said. “The Northeast and Midwest corridors provide some unique geographic opportunities for Nucor, and again, I think from a cost position, that mill is going to provide a significant value for our shareholders.”
Noah Hanners, executive vice president of sheet production, said about a third of the Mason County mill’s production will go into the automotive market.
Some of that steel will be used in parts that are exposed, which is an area where steel from electric arc furnaces has not been used widely, but Nucor has been qualified, he said.
In the markets for consumer durables such as appliances, there has been demand growth as companies reshore production, he added.
“We’re going to have the capabilities to match what is really robust growth and demand for us,” Hanners said. Last year, Nucor brought several new facilities online, including its new rebar micromill at Lexington, North Carolina; its Kingman, Arizona, melt shop; its Alabama Towers and Structures facility and a coating complex at Crawfordsville, Indiana.
The new sheet steel mill at Apple Grove in Mason County is the largest project Nucor has undertaken. Last year it spent about $950 million on its construction, according to materials included with its earnings report.
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