Nucor: A Moral Company

Essay by jimmytheballUniversity, Bachelor's December 2004

download word file, 4 pages 3.0

The history of Nucor starts with Ransom E. Olds. Olds, founder of Oldsmobile, created Reo Motor Cars in the early part of the twentieth century. In 1955 Reo Motor Cars was dissolved to form the Nuclear Corporation of America (NCA). NCA was comprised of a number of different companies, none of which did particularly well.

From 1955 to 1965 NCA had eight money-losing years leading to a reorganization of the company and the appointment of Kenneth Iverson as president. Iverson, along with Vice President Samuel Siegel decided to divest NCA's money losing business and rebuild the company around its only profitable organization--the steel joist business. In 1972 NCA formally adopted Nucor as the company name.

Today Nucor is one of the worlds leading steel manufacturing companies. With 25 divisions in 13 states, Nucor and its subsidiaries distribute steel and steel related products to over a dozen countries worldwide. These divisions, which are split according to their type of manufacture (steel joist, steel mills, miscellaneous), gross over $6 billion annually.

In 2003, Nucor sold over 15,000 tons of steel and grossed nearly $750 million. Nucor's head office is located in Charlotte, N.C. and headed by Vice Chairman, President and CEO Daniel R. DiMicco.

What makes Nucor so productive and profitable is its relationship with its employees. Nucor is recognized as one of the nations leading corporations for employee satisfaction. This is thanks to Ken Iverson who, when he became president, established Nucor's four principles. These principles were intended to help and improve the working conditions of the employees. These four principles are still the cornerstone on Nucor's employer/employee relationship. The four principles are:

1. Management is obligated to manage Nucor in such a way that employees will have the opportunity to earn according to productivity.

2. Employees should feel...