Requirements
One hundred acres of industrial land with rail and utilities were the only requirements set forth by NUCOR, which needed to expand its Vulcraft steel fabrication business to the Northeast. This new facility would enable the company to bid more competitively on construction projects from Maine to Pennsylvania by minimizing the trucking costs associated with transporting its products: steel joists, girders and decking. A site search through the strategic business division of the Empire State Development Corporation brought NUCOR to Chemung County.
Results
STEG officials paved the way to a successful expansion plan for NUCOR, a $50 million project that created 300 jobs.
Following the Norfolk Southern rail line along Interstate 86, they located a site with over 100 acres and negotiated a purchase option with the property owner. Then they worked with the town of Chemung to re-zone the property from agricultural to industrial, which required an extensive environmental impact study and a Phase II archeological survey.
Ensuring on-site rail service for the new 500,000-sq. ft. plant was another major hurdle to overcome. STEG enlisted the help of engineers from Norfolk Southern who had designed a rail siding for a similar Vulcraft facility in the South. The team used the same engineering to layout the new site in Chemung so that it was conducive to the company’s needs.
The city of Elmira then granted the company Empire Zone status, which means that NUCOR will benefit from a tax reduction for years to come.
