Steel Mills

Nucor Buys Hannibal Industries for $370 Million

Written by David Schollaert

July 20, 2021

Nucor has agreed to buy racking and hollow structural section (HSS) manufacturer Hannibal Industries Inc. for $370 million.

“Acquiring Hannibal Industries gives us a new growth platform and broadens our offering to the fast-growing warehouse channel,” Nucor President and CEO Leon Topalian said. “This acquisition reflects our strategy of expanding beyond our core steel businesses and establishes a new area for Nucor to pursue a market leadership position.”

Los Angeles-based Hannibal has manufacturing facilities in Los Angeles and Houston as well as three distribution centers. It has annual capacity of approximately 150,000 tons.

The latest move is Nucor’s fourth acquisition of an HSS manufacturer since 2016. Nucor – the largest steelmaker in North America – also acquired Republic Conduit, Southland Tube and Independence Tube.

“Acquiring Hannibal Industries further deepens our ability to serve warehouse and distribution customers when coupled with our pending purchase of Cornerstone Building Brands’ insulated metal panels business,” said Nucor Executive VP of Sheet and Tubular Products Rex Query. “In addition, having been an employee-owned company, we believe Hannibal Industries will be a natural fit with Nucor’s teammate-centered company culture.”

Hannibal Industries uses sheet and bar steel, as well as steel decking, wire deck and fasteners to produce its racking solutions. That provides potential supply-chain efficiencies with other Nucor businesses. In addition to producing racking, Hannibal works closely with customers during the construction and design phases of a warehouse build-out by offering turnkey services such as installation, procurement and facility integration.

By David Schollaert, David@SteelMarketUpdate.com

David Schollaert

David Schollaert is deputy editor-in-chief for Steel Market Update. David joined SMU after more than a decade in the metals and mining industry in a myriad of different roles. Much of his early experience and expertise were within the coverage and analysis of steel-making raw materials and served previously as senior editor of the CRU Prices Service. Most recently, however, before his return to market analysis, David held roles as a metals buyer and an operations manager for raw material suppliers. He can be contacted at david@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-720-1008.

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