Company Overview

Nucor was the pioneer of the so-called “mini-mill,” a small steel-making facility that enjoys the advantages of speed and operational versatility. With operating facilities in 19 states, Nucor produces carbon and alloy steel in bars, beams, sheets, and plates. It also makes steel products such as joists and girders, steel decking, fasteners, and light gauge steel framing. Nucor looks like it will emerge unscathed from the ongoing round of steel-industry consolidation as it continues to buy up competitors and strengthen its position. In 2004 it bought Corus Tuscaloosa, which produces coiled plates and has an annual capacity of around 700,000 tons. The company enjoyed record high sales in 2004 due to record high prices in the industry. Nucor prides itself on its flat management structure, performance-based compensation plans, and egalitarian benefits plans—as its website points out, "Senior executives do not enjoy traditional prerequisites such as company cars, corporate jets, executive dining rooms, or executive parking places." The company presents exceptional opportunities to engineering interns, who are always assigned to actual jobs or projects, and who are supported by a mentoring and performance feedback program. The company recruits during the fall and spring at major engineering schools throughout the United States.