Nucor Corporation announced that it will invest $200 million over a 5-year period in mill modernization projects at its Nucor Steel Berkeley division located in Huger, South Carolina. Pending permit and regulatory approvals, a portion of the capital investment will include the construction of a new air separation unit (ASU) for the purpose of supplying industrial gases for the mill's steelmaking operations. When complete, the ASU will be operated by UIG LLC, a Nucor wholly owned subsidiary, that specializes in industrial gas supply.

Nucor Steel Berkeley is currently supplied with industrial gases under a long-term supply agreement. This project will allow Nucor through UIG to produce and supply all the gases needed for the steel mill from the new Nucor owned facility, both now and into the future. The State of South Carolina provided the ASU project with a grant issued by the SC Department of Commerce Coordinating Council for Economic Development, as well as a grant from the state's utility provider, Santee Cooper.

Nucor and Berkeley County also entered into a fee-in-lieu of tax agreement.