Overview Nucor emerged from relative obscurity and near bankruptcy in 1966 to become one of the fastest growing steel companies in America and one of the world’s lowest-cost producers of steel products in 1990. Company revenues had increased from $21 million in 1966 to nearly $1.5 billion in 1990 and earnings were $75 million, up from $1.3 million in 1966. Despite an economic recession in 1991, it appeared that Nucor had a virtually unstoppable low-cost leadership strategy to grow into one of the biggest …showed first 75 words of 994 total…

…showed last 75 words of 994 total…s largest steel company. Two Japanese companies—NKK Corp. and Kawasaki Steel Corp.—were in merger talks that would create the world’s second-biggest steel-maker. While Nucor was poised to overtake USX-U.S. Steel Group, the biggest U.S. producer and the 11th largest in the world, it was still substantially smaller than a number of foreign steel companies that were said to be dumping steel products in the U.S. market at cut-rate prices.