Speaking with analysts about the company’s third-quarter earnings on Tuesday, incoming Nucor chief executive Leon Topalian said the US$176 million line, located at its Gallatin mill, processed its first coils on 27 September. The company has said the 72-inch line is the widest hot-rolled galvanizing facility in North America and has a capacity of 500,000 tons annually. 

“It is extremely well positioned to grow Nucor's share of the underserved Midwest heavy-gauge galvanizing hot band market,” Topalian said. 

As for other projects, Topalian said Nucor is ramping up production of a new rolling line at its Marion, Ohio, USA, bar mill, having commissioned it in August. Other projects to be started up by year’s end include a new merchant bar rolling mill at Nucor’s Kankakee bar plant in Illinois, its new rebar micro-mill in Sedalia, Mo., and its joint-venture galvanizing line in Mexico. 

“As we have said before, we are not adding capacity simply to get bigger. These projects target defined market opportunities where we are confident that we will compete and win highly profitable market share,” Topalian said. 

Also, retiring chief executive John Ferriola told analysts that Nucor is about two weeks away from completing a US$200 million overhaul of its direct reduction plant in Louisiana. Through the project, Nucor installed a new process gas heater and is relining the reactor vessel.

Ferriola said the goal is to achieve 8,000 hours of operation.

“We believe that we'll be able to accomplish that next year, and when we do, we will have … about 2.2 metric tons production,” Ferriola said.