Nucor, a North Carolina-based steel manufacturer, announced Wednesday a $180 million expansion of its Bourbonnais mill, increasing capacity and bringing 50 new jobs to the Kankakee County village.
The plant, located 50 miles south of Chicago and built in 1961, employs 300 workers and produces rebar — a steel rod used in reinforced concrete — along with other steel products for manufacturing and construction.
The expansion plan utilizes Illinois enterprise zone benefits, taking advantage of a statewide program designed to stimulate growth in economically depressed areas.
The benefits include various sales- and use-tax exemptions, a property tax abatement and permitting assistance, according to the company.
The project is expected to take two years to complete, and will increase annual manufacturing capacity by 500,000 tons at the Bourbonnais facility.
“It’s an investment in the existing facility that is certainly going to make us more competitive and allow us to broaden the product range,” said Katherine Miller, a Nucor spokeswoman.
Nucor has more than 200 facilities across the U.S. and Canada including steel mills, scrap yards and steel fabrication plants, and bills itself as the largest steel and steel products manufacturer in North America.
The Midwest is one of the largest markets for its products, and Nucor is banking on the expansion to meet demand, and “displace tons currently being supplied by competitors outside the region,” John Ferriola, Nucor’s CEO and president, said in a news release.
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