John Ferriola, president and CEO of the global steelmaker, Nucor, announced this week at the World Steel Association 47th annual meeting in Sao Paulo that the company would like to develop in Latin America.
“We’ve always looked at this region to expand into,” he said. “Most of our mills are located in the southeast quadrant of the United States, on the river. It’s easy to get [material] to Central and to South America.” He continued, “We look for opportunities that are good wherever we find them. If they happen to be in Brazil, in Sao Paulo, if it happens to be in some other part of South or Central America, that’s where we’ll go.”
He did confirm, however, that the company does not enter a new market without first doing the do diligence. It always ensures that the new markets make sense and that they learn all they can about them before jumping in. He explained that Nucor “…first puts boots on the ground on the sales side.” It allows the company the opportunity to learn about the customs, policies, government and the suppliers who could potentially become great partners.
He is optimistic that expanding into South America will be a profitable, sustainable and safe operation.