Global Fastener News

Nucor has been named to Fast Company’s list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies of 2024, ranking as the sixth most innovative company in the manufacturing category.

“Nucor got into the steel-mill business when that entire industry seemed to be rusting away in the U.S., then forged a new business model based on recycling scrap steel,” wrote Fast Company’s Rob Pegoraro.

“In 2023, the company is moved to shrink its already small-for-its-sector carbon footprint—which it puts at .76 tons of carbon dioxide per ton of steel produced, versus an industry average of 1.84 tons—through initiatives such as switching to battery-electric trucking for customer deliveries, commissioning the world’s first mill certified to LEED v4 environmental standards, introducing a low-carbon steel-plate product optimized for offshore wind installations, and deploying carbon capture and storage at a Louisiana plant.”

This year’s list spotlights businesses that are shaping industry and culture through innovation. “These organizations are setting new standards and achieving remarkable milestones in all sectors of the economy,” according to Fast. Alongside the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies, Fast Company recognized 606 organizations across 58 sectors and regions.

The award focuses on how companies’ innovations are leading their industries forward. Nucor has been leading the movement for sustainable steel for more than 50 years, paving the road for the industry’s route to zero through partnerships and breakthrough clean energy technologies to minimize emissions.

In 2023, Nucor promoted circular steel:

• Opened the world’s first LEED v4 certified steel mill in Brandenburg, Kentucky, strategically located in the US’ largest steel plate-consuming region, reinforcing Nucor’s commitment to a low-carbon future.
• Created a circular, closed-loop system alongside Johnson Controls (JCI) to recycle nearly 100% of their scrap steel, gathering thousands of tons of used steel to remelt at Nucor facilities into new steel for JCI’s use.
• Introduced the first all-electric trucking route in collaboration with Nikola and PGT Trucking to reduce emissions from steel transportation by swapping heavy-duty semi-trucks for battery-electric trucks.
• Committed to capturing and storing carbon emissions from Nucor’s Louisiana manufacturing facilities via a partnership with ExxonMobil. The partnership will help prevent up to 800,000 tons of CO2 per year from being released into the atmosphere by capturing it and safely annexing it in geological formations such as depleted oil and gas reservoirs or saline aquifers.
• Invested in Electra to help scale carbon-free iron technology, which has the potential to revolutionize not only Nucor’s steelmaking, but the entire industry by replacing higher carbon inputs to the steelmaking process with sustainable alternatives.
• Introduced Elcyon™, the first and only domestically manufactured, sustainable steel plate designed specifically for offshore wind applications.

Most Innovative Companies is judged by more than three dozen editors and writers, who leverage their expertise to assess the innovations—and the impact of those efforts—of thousands of companies. Fast Company’s editorial team considers the financial results of an innovation, its ripple effect across an industry or the broader culture, and its positive societal impact.

Nucor entered the fastener business in 1986 when it opened its $25 million plant in St. Joe, IN. The automated facility’s capacity is more than 75,000 tons of hex-head cap screws, hex bolts, structural bolts and custom engineered fasteners manufactured by 240 workers. Web: nucor-fastener.com