Nucor Corporation has reached key commissioning milestones at its West Virginia sheet mill, where the meltshop produced its first heat in September. The development marks an important stage in the construction and start-up of the greenfield facility, as the company continues commissioning equipment and preparing the mill for commercial production.
Nucor President and Chief Operating Officer Stephen D. Laxton shared the update during the company’s third-quarter 2026 earnings call. Earlier in October, the West Virginia mill began pickling coils and shipping them to downstream Nucor divisions. The first coils from the hot mill, cold mill and a construction-grade galvanizing line are expected in December.
Following these initial production milestones, Nucor plans to ramp up output at the facility in early 2027, targeting 50% capacity utilisation by the end of that year. The commissioning programme is intended to progressively bring the mill’s manufacturing operations online and build production capacity.
In a separate development, Nucor’s new automotive-grade galvanizing line at its Berkeley facility in South Carolina entered service earlier in October. The company is targeting 50% utilisation of the line by mid-2027, with a further ramp-up towards full production by the end of the year.
The investments in West Virginia and South Carolina are expected to strengthen Nucor’s ability to serve the North American automotive market, where the company currently has a comparatively smaller presence. As the facilities increase production and complete customer qualification processes, Nucor plans to expand its supply relationships with leading automakers across the region.
Commenting on the developments, Stephen D. Laxton, President and Chief Operating Officer, Nucor, said, “Taken together, our investments in West Virginia and South Carolina enhance Nucor’s ability to serve the automotive market, where we are relatively underweighted today. As both projects ramp and complete customer qualifications, we will build on the strong relationships we already have in place with many of North America’s leading automakers.”
The two projects form part of Nucor’s investment in expanding its sheet steel and value-added finishing capabilities. The West Virginia facility is progressing through staged commissioning, while the Berkeley galvanizing line adds automotive-grade processing capacity in South Carolina.
As production increases and customer qualifications are completed, the facilities are expected to provide additional capacity to meet demand from automotive manufacturers and other downstream customers. Nucor’s production targets place the main ramp-up period across 2027, with the West Virginia mill and Berkeley line expected to reach their respective utilisation milestones during the year.
