Local news media reported Monday that Charlotte, North Carolina-based Nucor Corporation is looking to expand its Hickman plant in Blytheville, Arkansas. The facility produces hot rolled, cold rolled and pickled sheet, as well as floor plate and galvanized coils. The expansion is pending approval from the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ).
Nucor is hoping to receive ADEQ approval for the nearly $50 million expansion by year's end, so construction can begin in early 2012 and completed by Q3 2012. Once completed, the project would add a twin-tank degasser line, allowing for the steel produced to be easier to bend, and enabling Nucor to make products it didn't make before. Nucor has also asked the city of Blytheville to reduce property taxes on the mill if the company hires additional workers; the expansion is expected to add 17 new employees.