Nucor Corp. announced that it has closed on the purchase of Worthington Industries’ cold rolling mill in Decatur, Ala., for a cash purchase price of approximately $80 million.

The deal included a pickle line, four-stand tandem cold mill, temper mill, annealing furnaces and all related buildings at the Decatur facility, which is adjacent to the current Nucor Steel Decatur, LLC steel plant. The 1,000,000-ton cold mill facility, which Worthington constructed and started up in 1998, has 600,000 tons of annealing capacity.

"We are pleased to announce the successful acquisition of the Worthington cold mill assets. The addition of the pickle line, cold mill and annealing equipment enhances our ability to service the value-added sheet market in the southeast," said Dan DiMicco, Nucor's Vice Chairman, President and CEO.

"We have implemented both operating and marketing plans to successfully integrate these assets into our group," said John Ferriola, Executive Vice President of Nucor's Sheet Group. "The market reaction to our acquisition has been extremely favorable. We look forward to utilizing this new asset to better serve the needs of our customers in this growing market. We are continuing to study the feasibility of additional finishing capabilities at this facility to better meet the value-added product needs of our customers. We have been conducting training and orientation sessions with our new team members and we are excited to welcome them to the Nucor family."

Nucor’s purchase does not include the Decatur facility’s slitting and cut-to-length equipment, which Worthington will continue to operate.

Nucor is one of the largest steel producers in the United States, and is the nation's largest recycler. Nucor and affiliates manufacture steel products, with operating facilities in fourteen states. Products include carbon and alloy steel bars, beams, sheet and plate; steel joists and joist girders; steel deck; cold finished steel; steel fasteners; metal building systems; and light gauge steel framing.