Nucor is a North Carolina-based steel manufacturer with over 20,000 employees. It is the single largest steel producer in the U.S. and the largest recycler of any one material, recycling half a ton of steel every second. Alabama is home to five of its operations, with a workforce of nearly 2,000 employees.

Mills in Decatur, Birmingham, and Tuscaloosa manufacture steel used in cars, appliances, wind turbines, transmission towers, and bridges. Non-mill facilities include Vulcraft in Fort Payne, which produces steel joist and girders used in roof and floor support systems, and American Buildings Co. in Eufaula, which specializes in the design and manufacturing of steel buildings.