LITTLE ROCK — A steel mill near Blytheville will receive $115 million for expansion, but company officials have so far remained silent on the possibility of new jobs.
Nucor-Yamato Steel Co., a joint venture between Charlotte, N.C.-based Nucor Corp. and Japan-based Yamato Kogyo Co. Ltd., will expand the production of hot-rolled sheetpiling at the plant by early 2014.
Katherine Miller, a spokesman for Nucor, said she was not sure if any new jobs were being added at the facility.
Also, it couldn’t be determined Tuesday if the expansion will require work that could open up temporary construction jobs. Nucor-Yamato officials in Arkansas could not be reached for commentTuesday.
The Blytheville Nucor-Yamato steel mill employs about 900 people, according to data from the Greater Blytheville Area Chamber of Commerce. Miller said more than 1,600 people are employed at the three Nucor plants in northeast Arkansas.
Joe Holmes, spokesman for the Arkansas Economic Development Commission,said the commission was not involved with the expansion, and there were no state incentives given.
The steel industry has been lucrative for the state. Mississippi County in particular, where Blytheville is located, lists two Nucor plants as top employers. The county is also home to several other steel plants, including Arkansas Steel Processing, Friedman Industries, Tenaris Tube Company Structural Works and Paco Steel.
Nucor said in a news release Tuesday that the project will add several new sheet piling sections to production and will increase single sheet widths by 22 percent. The project will produce a cheaper sheet that covers more area, in addition to being lighter andstronger.
The release stated that the piling products are used for marine construction, bridge and highway construction, heavy civil construction, storm protection and to build infrastructure.
“This investment enhances Nucor-Yamato Steel’s ability to make innovative, cost effective sheet piling designs. American-made piling products are key to our country's investments in infrastructure and creating jobs,” DanielDiMicco, Nucor’s chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement.
On June 16, Nucor finalized a $605 million acquisition of Parsippany, N.J.-based Skyline Steel LLC. Skyline Steel is a manufacturer of commercial, structural and miscellaneous steel. It has distributed to Nucor for more than 20 years, and Nucor officials said they expect the acquisition to boost Nucor’s profit in the next fiscal year.
Nucor stock closed Tuesday at $36.51 per share, a 1.25 percent increase from Monday’s close at $36.06 per share.
Business, Pages 25 on 06/27/2012