Nucor-JFE Steel Mexico Hot-dip Galvanized Sheet Steel Facility Begins Production

Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) announced today that Nucor-JFE Steel Mexico, S. de R.L. de C.V. (Nucor-JFE), located in Silao, Guanajuato in central Mexico, has begun operating its continuous galvanizing line, which will produce hot-dip galvanized sheet steel for the automotive market.

"We are excited to expand our presence in Mexico and to use our local sales network to increase our sales into this important automotive market," said Leon Topalian, President and CEO of Nucor. "We are proud to partner with JFE Steel Corporation of Japan and to benefit from their experience as a premier supplier of high-quality products to the automotive industry."

The hot-dip galvanized sheet steel production facility has a production capacity of 400,000 tons annually. It can produce sheet thickness from 0.4 mm to 2.6 mm and widths of 800 mm to 1,850 mm. Nucor-JFE has begun trial production and will move towards full-scale sales and production once customer approvals have been obtained.

Nucor-JFE is well-positioned to serve the large number of automakers who have built facilities in central Mexico. Automotive production in Mexico is expected to continue to grow and the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) increases the amount of North American content required in cars and trucks to avoid tariffs imposed by the United States. Nucor and JFE will each supply an equal amount of substrate to be processed at the new facility.

Nucor and its affiliates are manufacturers of steel and steel products, with operating facilities in the United States, Mexico and Canada. Products produced include: carbon and alloy steel -- in bars, beams, sheet and plate; hollow structural section tubing; electrical conduit; steel piling; steel joists and joist girders; steel deck; fabricated concrete reinforcing steel; cold finished steel; precision castings; steel fasteners; metal building systems; steel grating; and wire and wire mesh. Nucor, through The David J. Joseph Company, also brokers ferrous and nonferrous metals, pig iron and hot briquetted iron / direct reduced iron; supplies ferro-alloys; and processes ferrous and nonferrous scrap. Nucor is North America's largest recycler.

Certain statements contained in this news release are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. The words "believe," "expect," "project," "will," "should," "could" and similar expressions are intended to identify those forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements reflect the Company's best judgment based on current information, and although we base these statements on circumstances that we believe to be reasonable when made, there can be no assurance that future events will not affect the accuracy of such forward-looking information. As such, the forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results may vary materially from the projected results and expectations discussed in this news release. Factors that might cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: (1) competitive pressure on sales and pricing, including pressure from imports and substitute materials; (2) U.S. and foreign trade policies affecting steel imports or exports; (3) the sensitivity of the results of our operations to prevailing steel prices and changes in the supply and cost of raw materials, including pig iron, iron ore and scrap steel; (4) market demand for steel products, which, in the case of many of our products, is driven by the level of nonresidential construction activity in the United States; and (5) energy costs and availability. These and other factors are discussed in Nucor's regulatory filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including those in "Item 1A. Risk Factors" of Nucor's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year-ended December 31, 2019. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release speak only as of this date, and Nucor does not assume any obligation to update them, except as may be required by applicable law.

Source: Nucor, Photo: Fotolia