Corporate- level strategy:

Mission Statement of Nucor:

“Taking Care of Our Customers”

With superior quality, lower cost, more productive and most profitable steel Nucor is committed to satisfy
its customers. They also are very much conscious about the environment and the culture of their
customers.

Vision of Nucor:

“Our goal is to be the premier highway products producer in the world. We are empowered to work safe
and smart with a sense of urgency, to achieve a dynamic, highly effective operation. We will accept
nothing less than 100% customer satisfaction. Working together as a unified team, we will develop
solutions for every challenge that arises, learn from every experience we encounter, and strengthen our
leadership position in the industry, every day we will demonstrate integrity and commitment to
excellence, through high personal involvement, in achieving world class customer service. Using recycled
steel; we are environmental stewards, creating highway safety products that save lives”.

Major Products of Nucor:

In the beginning they started their business as a motor car manufacture, and then they switched to Nuclear
power industry. After failing in that sector they started manufacturing steel.

Corporate strategy pattern:

Nucor started manufacturing of its first Oldsmobile, known as Reo Truck Company in 1897. After
postwar era declined into bankruptcy; it merged and became Nuclear Corporation of America. That time
Nuclear acquired various high tech businesses, such as radiation sensors, semi-conductors, rare earths and
air conditioning equipment. Even after this high tech businesses could gave Nuclear the success they
wanted. After a fourth reorganization in 1966, gave birth of Nucor. Nucor bought a small joist plant in
South Carolina in 1962. While Nucor was struggling to do well; their Vulcraft division was doing well
with Mr. Ken Iverson heading that division. Mr. Iverson took over the Nucor president position in 1966
when the company was on the edge of bankruptcy. In 1968 Nucor build its first steel mill in South
Carolina to make cheaper steel for their joist business, which was a diversification for them. In the late
1960’s Nucor had the first computer inventory management system and designs/engineering programs.
With its sophistication in purchasing, sales, and management it was beating its competitors often with its
speedy design efforts. Nucor’s much success depended on its benchmark organizational style and the
empowered division managers. Nucor strengthen its position by developing alliances with outside parties.
It did no internal research and development, instead it monitored others’ work worldwide and attracted
investors who brought the company new technical applications. It also constructed new facilities at the
lowest cost. Their divisions were informal and not bureaucratic. Their management policy was very
successful. They believed that cost is if the company cannot differentiate its products from its
competitor’s products. They always made things simple and easy for their employees and also the
numbers of their employees were small. They didn’t followed any mass marketing tools, so that there will
be no extra cost incurred.

Business-level strategy
After failing in motor car manufacturing business and then in nuclear business Nucor settled in one single
business, that is steel manufacturing industry.

At first there were two basic lines of business for Nucor. First one was the six joist plants that made the
steel frames for buildings and the other one was four steel mills that utilized the innovative mini- mill
technology that supplied to the joist mill at first then to outside customers. In the early 1990’s Nucor’ had
22 divisions. These divisions’ general managers were also its vice presidents. In 1990’s Nucor had three
basic types of divisions, joist plants, steel mills, and miscellaneous plants. There corporate office had less
than 25 people. Each of its divisions was a profit center for them with its divisional managers to control
these divisions. They gave a target of 25 % return on total assets employed, before corporate expenses,
taxes, interest, or profit sharing.
Nucor was the prime mover in steel and the industries vertically related to steel industry, throughout the
1980s and 1990s.

Nucor is highly decentralized in its operations; there are only five managerial levels at Nucor
(supervisor/professional, department manager, division general manager, executive vice president, and
President/CEO). Most operating decisions are made at the division level or lower. In addition, Nucor says
that its corporate office staff numbers are around 25 employees, which may possibly be the smallest
number of corporate office employees among major corporations.

There were four incentive programs in Nucor, one each for production workers, department heads, and
staff people. All these programs were based on group performance. Second incentive program was for
department heads in various divisions. This incentive was paid by the contribution of each division. Third
plan was for people who were not production workers, department managers and senior managers. This
bonus was based on either the division return-on- assets or the corporate return-on-assets depending on
the unit they were a part of. Bonuses were 30% or more of a person’s base salary for the corporate
positions. Fourth was for the senior officers. These senior officers had no employment contracts, pension
or retirement plans, or other perquisites. Their base salaries were set at about 75% of what an individual
doing similar work in other companies would receive.