Steel Mills
Nucor Carolina Operations Suspended During Hurricane
Written by Sandy Williams
September 13, 2018
Charlotte-based Nucor Corp. will suspend operations at its sheet mill in Berkeley, S.C., and its plate mill in Hertford, N.C., in anticipation of Hurricane Florence.
Operations began shutting down on Wednesday and will restart after the storm passes, said Nucor spokesperson Katherine Miller.
“At Nucor, safety is our top priority…. We are closely monitoring the storm and each Nucor division has an Emergency Action Plan in place that they are following. We are complying with evacuation orders in areas that are subject to them, so that Nucor teammates can focus on keeping their families and homes safe. Two of our steel mills in the Carolinas, Nucor Steel Berkeley and Nucor Steel Hertford have suspended operations until the storm passes. Operations will resume when it is determined that it is safe to do so.”
Nucor has several facilities in the Carolinas and Virginia that are in the hurricane’s path, including its headquarters in Charlotte, N.C.
The company is not expecting any disruption to customer orders during the weather event.
Liberty Steel in Georgetown, S.C., evacuated its facility on Tuesday for the safety of its employees. Other steel producers in the area include Gerdau and Commercial Metals.
Nine primary steel mills and 8.0 percent of U.S. steel capacity are in the hurricane path. Coking coal spot prices have spiked in anticipation of port closures that will disrupt shipments.
Other Companies Take Precautions
Two major auto manufacturers in the Charleston, S.C., area have suspended operations. A Daimler AG Mercedes-Benz factory that just opened its doors last week suspended operations until further notice. Volvo stopped operations Tuesday to comply with evacuation orders for the region
Ports in South Carolina are suspending operations beginning Thursday as the storm passes through. Normal operations are expected on Monday.
The National Weather Service is predicting wind damage, storm surge and severe flooding. Winds were recorded at 110 mph as of 9:30 a.m. Thursday as the storm slowly moved toward the coastline.
Sandy Williams
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