APPLE GROVE, W.Va. — Construction of the Nucor Steel production facility in Mason County is now underway.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held Friday at the 1,700-acre site in Apple Grove with 545 shovels lined up half a mile, breaking the Guiness World Record for most people to participate in a dig for a groundbreaking. The previous record stood at 250 people.
Joint groundbreaking at Nucor site. Now they will go one by one to set world record pic.twitter.com/gpupolUCj9
— Jeff Jenkins (@JeffJenkinsMN) October 20, 2023
The plant is being built along the Ohio River and Route 2 south of Point Pleasant and will take about two to three years to complete.
Nucor President and CEO Leon Topalian said the company is investing $3.1 billion in the region to produce steel by using recycling materials.
“This mill will be one of the most technologically advanced and will have one of the lowest carbon footprints than any sheet mill in the world. While we’ve always made it our mission to be goo stewards of the environment and the communities where we live and work, we know how this reach will impact this community,” Topalian said during Friday’s ceremony.
The company will be able to ship its products by highway, by rail and by water which Topalian said makes it an attractive location.
Nearly 2,000 construction workers will be on the job and then once in full operation, the plant will provide 800 permanent, full-time, non-union jobs. The average salary for a Nucor employee is $133,000.
Nucor groundbreaking sets @GWR with dig relay pic.twitter.com/D9urd4GGlj
— Jeff Jenkins (@JeffJenkinsMN) October 20, 2023
Governor Jim Justice said it was a team effort to get Nucor to West Virginia.
“We had to all come together whether it be the Senate, the House, the governor, and all of us with a real vision and strategy and we did it,” he said. “And now I would say by God, the world knows where West Virginia is.”
U.S. Senators Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito also provided remarks about their efforts to move the project forward at the federal level.
Manchin spoke directly to young people, including local high school marching members, about how Nucor is allowing them to stay in West Virginia to make a good living.
“You never have to think about leaving West Virginia. You never have to think about someone saying you have to go somewhere else to make a good living. You’re going to have an unbelievable opportunity to raise your children and watch your grandchildren stay close to you,” Manchin said.
Today, we broke ground on the largest manufacturing investment in state history—Nucor Steel in Mason County. Their decision to invest in WV represents a true vote of confidence in our state's strength, resilience, and readiness to seize opportunities. pic.twitter.com/9QSH5cHwDn
— Governor Jim Justice (@WVGovernor) October 20, 2023
Capito said Nucor will not only improve the quality of life for families in West Virginia, but will also spur economic growth in Mason County.
“I like the word ‘transformational’ because I think that speaks to the future. We see the transformational technology and the transformational way that this is going to transform this region and this part of our state,” she said.
State Senate President Craig Blair said Nucor’s investment will also help other areas of the state. He echoed the governor’s comments about coming together to create hundreds of good-paying jobs.
“The Mason County leadership needs to understand that we’re going to operate in this state at the speed of business, not the speed of government ladies and gentlemen, and that’s exactly how West Virginia’s government is working with all the agencies now,” Blair said.
Nucor announced its decision to come to West Virginia in Jan. 2022. The state used $300 million in incentives to attract the project.
In August, the company received a key approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The agency granted Nucor a Section 404 permit, which is the final permit needed to begin construction. The permit allows for a large docking facility to be built on the Ohio River near the plant site.
The plant will have a 3-million ton sheet capacity.
MetroNews’ Jeff Jenkins contributed to this story.