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    Analysis

    August 27, 2026

    Steel Summit: Nucor fires up West Virginia EAF as sheet mill ramp approaches

    Written by Laura Miller

    Nucor Corp. has begun commissioning the melt shop at its new, $4 billion sheet mill in West Virginia, with the first arc struck on the new electric-arc furnace, according to Noah Hanners, the company’s executive vice president of sheet products. The pickle line is producing, the electric-arc furnace has been fired up, and steel production is expected soon.

    “We struck an arc in the furnace,” Hanners revealed in a fireside chat Monday at the SMU Steel Summit 2026 in Atlanta. He said Nucor would continue commissioning equipment further downstream, including the hot and cold mills. The company plans to complete the mill’s commissioning by year’s end.

    Laura Miller

    Laura Miller is a reporter and editor for Steel Market Update. She has held various editorial positions with steel industry publications, associations, and mills since 2007. She joined the SMU team in 2022. She is a member of the Association of Women in the Metal Industries and a past-president of the AWMI Pittsburgh Chapter. She holds a BA in Latin American Studies from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania.

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