Vulcraft Corporation was founded in 1946 in Florence, South Carolina as an industrial steel fabrication facility. In the fall of 1954, the company began manufacturing long and short span joists exclusively. Vulcraft – South Carolina became a member of the Steel Joist Institute in May 1959 and was subsequently purchased by Nuclear Corporation of America in September of 1962.
The Norfolk division was Nucor Corporation’s second Vulcraft facility. It began operations in 1964. The Norfolk facility was chosen over 14 other sites because of the community’s strong values and good labor pools. A deck fabrication facility was added to the Norfolk division in 1977.
On April 3, 1967 Nucor purchased the M&S Steel Company of Fort Payne, Alabama. M&S would become Vulcraft – Alabama, one of the few Vulcraft divisions that Nuclear would acquire instead of construct. In 1986, the division relocated to newly constructed facilities in north Fort Payne, Alabama.
In November 1967, Nucor Corporation announced that the company would build its fourth steel joist plant in Grapeland, Texas. The plant began operations on April 1, 1968. The Grapeland plant’s employment has more than tripled since 1968 while maintaining superior ratings on safety.
In 1972, Nucor’s fifth steel joist plant went into operation in St. Joe, Indiana. By this time, Nucor had launched an advertising campaign to promote high-quality, reliable and low-cost joists streaming out of Vulcraft facilities. Nucor advertised how Vulcraft had its own trucks to assure on-time delivery, and engineers and sales personnel who were willing to come to a job site on a moment’s notice.
In January 1981, Nucor announced that Vulcraft would construct its sixth steel joist plant in Brigham City, Utah. The new plant would help the company meet the ever-increasing demand for joist products. In addition, it would better serve customers in the inter-mountain and west coast regions. Production at the plant began in the fourth quarter of 1981.
In 2000, Nucor began construction on a seventh Vulcraft facility in Chemung, New York. The startup of this facility began in the second half of 2001. Nucor’s steel mills in Auburn, New York and Crawfordsville, Indiana supply the majority of the raw materials for this plant. The Chemung facility represents a continuation of Nucor’s successful value-added strategy.
Nucor acquires Harris Rebar and begins manufacturing standard, high strength and fabricated steel bar grating products under the Nucor Grating banner.
Vulcraft Canada, Inc. was the 8th production facility and the first joist & deck plant outside the United States for the Vulcraft Verco Group. Located in Ancaster, Ontario, the plant produces steel joists, joist girders, and decking. Vulcraft Canada, through its offices in Ontario and British Columbia has been catering to the Canadian market since 2011 with local engineering, detailing project management and customer support.
Vulcraft added a second manufacturing facility in Canada by procuring the assets of former Omega Joists in Nisku, Alberta. This allows Vulcraft Canada to offer coast to coast coverage across Canada with strategically located manufacturing facilities in Ancaster, Ontario in the east and Nisku, Alberta in the west.
Nucor Grating becomes a product offered under the Nucor Vulcraft banner, with two locations in Canada and two location in the United States.
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