Nucor Corporation has announced that it will invest $200 million over a 5-year period in mill modernization projects at its Nucor Steel Berkeley division located in Huger, South Carolina. Pending permit and regulatory approvals, a portion of the capital investment will include the construction of a new air separation unit (“ASU”) for the purpose of supplying industrial gases for the mill’s steelmaking operations.

When complete, the ASU will be operated by UIG LLC, a Nucor wholly owned subsidiary, that specializes in industrial gas supply. Nucor Steel Berkeley is currently supplied with industrial gases under a long-term supply agreement. This project will allow Nucor through UIG to produce and supply all the gases needed for the steel mill from the new Nucor-owned facility, both now and into the future.

“Nucor acquired UIG in 2019 so that we would have the capability to build and operate our own air separation units, giving us an alternative to long-term service contracts with outside providers,” said Mike Lee, Vice President and General Manager of Nucor Steel Berkeley. “We are proud of our company’s long-time partnership with the State of South Carolina, and we are excited to continue to invest in the state where Nucor first began operating nearly 60 years ago.”

The State of South Carolina provided the ASU project with a grant issued by the SC Department of Commerce Coordinating Council for Economic Development, as well as a grant from the state’s utility provider, Santee Cooper. Nucor and Berkeley County also entered into a fee-in-lieu of the tax agreement.

Nucor Steel Berkeley produces up to 3.5 million tons of flat-rolled sheet and structural steel per year for a myriad of industries, including agriculture, automotive and appliance, construction, energy generation and transmission, oil and gas, heavy equipment, infrastructure, and transportation. The facility employs approximately 1000 teammates.