Decatur Steel Mill, Alabama

This steel mill, called a mini-mill, as it uses scrap steel to make new steel, was purchased by Nucor, one of the pioneers of mini-mill technology, for $120 million in 2002. It was originally known as the Trico Mill, and was built by LTV Steel, once the nation's third largest integrated steelmaker, in 1997. It was one of that company’s early attempts at mini-mill technology (which also reduces the number of workers needed to produce steel). LTV was the first major American integrated steel company to employ this technology, but soon went bankrupt anyways, and the mill closed in 2001. Trico was a joint venture with LTV, Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd. and British Steel.