Nucor Steel will make a capital investment of $4.4 million this year at its steel manufacturing plant in Decatur.

The company will buy new equipment for Nucor's hot mill pickle line, allowing for a broader range of products to reach additional markets and attract new customers. The investment will not directly create any new jobs at Nucor's Decatur site, which has 730 employees and an annual payroll of more than $85 million before benefits.

Work will begin on the project Friday. The Decatur Industrial Development Board said construction at the Iverson Boulevard facility should end by Dec. 31.

"We appreciate Nucor's continued investment in their Decatur operations to remain competitive and retain the well-paying jobs for our citizens," said Jeremy Nails, president and CEO of the Morgan County Economic Development Association.

The board this week approved a tax abatement request totaling $11,754.51 per year for non-education real and personal property taxes in Alabama, Morgan County and Decatur over a 10-year period.

The project is expected to create $14,476 per year for 10 years in real and personal property school taxes, of which Decatur City Schools will receive $10,870 annually. The estimated Morgan County sales and use taxes created during the period of capital investment will be $15,634.38, while the abated sales and use taxes will be $62,537.50 for the city and state.

Nucor Steel was not immediately available for an interview Tuesday afternoon.

BP, General Electric

The board also agreed to transfer existing tax abatements to the purchasers of BP and General Electric should those deals move forward and close.

"The transfer of the remaining tax abatement periods to the prospective purchasers of BP and GE is the first step in welcoming two new corporations into our community," Nails said.

In December, GE backed out of a plan to sell its appliances business to Swedish company Electrolux for $3.3 billion. Haier Group announced a month later it would buy the company's appliances division for $5.4 billion.

GE's refrigeration plant in Decatur has about 1,000 employees.

BP is also in the process of selling its Decatur petrochemicals plant to Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited. The oil and gas producer's 1,000-acre Decatur site makes 1 million tons of purified terephthalic acid, or PTA, per year for the production of polyester.

BP, which acquired the Decatur complex in 1998 after merging with Amoco, has 400 workers in Decatur.

 

Source : al.com

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