Nucor Corp

Overview Nucor emerged from relative obscurity and near bankruptcy in 1966 to become one of the fastest growing steel companies in America and one of the world’s lowest-cost producers of steel products in 1990. Company revenues had increased from $21 million in 1966 to nearly $1.5 billion in 1990 and earnings were $75 million, up from $1.3 million in 1966. Despite an economic recession in 1991, it appeared that Nucor had a virtually unstoppable low-cost leadership strategy to grow into one of the biggest …

…s largest steel company. Two Japanese companies—NKK Corp. and Kawasaki Steel Corp.—were in merger talks that would create the world’s second-biggest steel-maker. While Nucor was poised to overtake USX-U.S. Steel Group, the biggest U.S. producer and the 11th largest in the world, it was still substantially smaller than a number of foreign steel companies that were said to be dumping steel products in the U.S. market at cut-rate prices.