HEAVY METAL.

• Position: NC TREND: Statewide

Nucor, the largest U.S. steel maker, plans a $350 million mill in Lexington, its first manufacturing expansion in North Carolina since the 2000 opening of its Hertford County plant. Unlike that remote location near Ahoskie in eastern North Carolina, the Davidson County site was chosen because it is 3 miles east of busy Interstate 85, which provides good access to scrap metal yards in Gastonia, Monroe and Whiteville, CEO Leon Topolian said. When Nucor opened the Hertford plant, it had annual revenue of $4 billion, compared with last year's total of $36.5 billion.

The new site will produce rebar, a material to reinforce concrete for bridges, roads and buildings. It is being facilitated by as much as $19 million of state incentives, less than offers from South Carolina and Virginia. It is slated to open in 2025 with as many as 200 workers, who will receive estimated annual compensation of nearly $100,000. That's more than double the Davidson County average of $45,000.

The $350 million isn't a big bet given Nucor's momentum. Capital spending totaled $1.6 billion last year. In January, it announced a $2.7 billion sheet mill in Mason County, West Virginia, marking the largest construction project in company history. In February, it said it would spend $290 million to expand its mill in Crawfordsville, Indiana, and it bought a majority of California Steel Industries for $400 million.

Last year, Nucor reported...