OPINION | REX NELSON: The steel industry continues its meteoric rate of expansion in Arkansas

The steel industry in Mississippi County is taking economic growth to a meteoric level, and Lexicon, the steel fabrication company and largest construction company in Arkansas, has been integral, constructing and maintaining the steel mills in the Land of Steel. Check out this in-depth look from Arkansas Democrat Gazette’s Rex Nelson.

By Rex Nelson - August 25, 2024

Original story: https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2024/aug/25/the-next-level/

As I drive from my downtown office to my home in west Little Rock each evening, I pass a sign proclaiming a portion of Arkansas 10 as the Tom Schueck Highway. I often smile, thinking about the things that made Schueck, who died in March 2020 at age 78, a force of nature.

I was eating lunch at the Capital Bar and Grill in downtown Little Rock one weekday afternoon years ago. I had written something about the Little Rock Municipal Airport Commission, on which Schueck served at the time. In a loud voice that could be heard by those at adjoining tables, Schueck told me in salty language just what he thought of my column.

A few minutes later, his wife Marge came over to the table and said, "You know Tom wouldn't talk to you that way unless he loved you."

"I do know that," I replied. "I've known him a long time."

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette illustration by John Deering.

When it came time to leave, I was informed that someone had paid for my lunch. I think I know who that was.

In a story for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette after his death, Noel Oman described Schueck as "a St. Louis native who used his strong-willed personality to build a Little Rock-based steel empire and made a mark in public service and as a philanthropist. ... Schueck, an engineer by training, began what became Lexicon Inc. more than 50 years ago in the carport of his home with $800 in the bank and his wife, Marge Schueck, as his sole employee.

"The company, now with a workforce of 2,000, went on to become involved in an array of high-profile projects--from AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys professional football team, and steel mills for Nucor and Big River Steel to warehouses for Amazon, power plants, auto plants and other heavy industrial, commercial

and roadway projects around the world."

The section of highway is named for Schueck because he served on the Arkansas Highway Commission. He was chairman at the time of his death.

His son, Patrick Schueck, and I laugh as we share what I refer to as "Tom stories." We're at the Lexicon corporate headquarters at the Port of Little Rock on a rainy Friday morning.

I can't help but think that the father would be amazed by the rate at which Arkansas has become the steelmaking capital of America in the four years since his death.

When the steel mill known as Big River Steel II between Osceola and Wilson opens later this year, Mississippi County will be the top steel-producing county in America. While most people think of Mississippi County when asked about the steel industry in Arkansas, it's Little Rock-based Patrick who in many ways is Arkansas' Man of Steel. He says the companies that fall under the Lexicon umbrella now employ "between 2,200 and 2,400 people, depending on which week it is."

"There has been a rebirth of the steel industry across this country, and Arkansas has been a big part of that," Patrick tells me. "The presence of Nucor and then Big River changed our state. Steel mills are so much more environmentally friendly now that we're using electric arc furnaces rather than blast furnaces and now that we're utilizing recycled steel."

Electric arc furnaces don't require iron ore, coal or natural gas to heat steel. They produce almost 75 percent fewer emissions than conventional blast furnaces.

"Arkansas has truly helped lead the revolution in the U.S. steel industry," Patrick says.

When his father died, Patrick described him as "a force to be reckoned with--both in business and in life."

Tom Schueck grew up in a blue-collar neighborhood on the south side of St. Louis in a single-parent home. For a time, he worked for a construction company during the day and took college classes at night. He later switched to being a full-time student and graduated with a civil engineering degree from Washington University in 1965.

Tom moved to Little Rock later that year to work for the company that was building Murray Lock and Dam as part of the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System.

When he went out on his own, Tom was selling products such as steel bar joists and metal decks as a manufacturer's representative. He later relocated the company from his carport to the current site of the corporate headquarters. He then set about building what originally was called Schueck Steel Products into one of the leading heavy construction companies in the world.

Tom became friends with Nucor executives as the Nucor-Yamato and Nucor Steel Arkansas (known locally as Nucor Hickman) mills were built near Blytheville. Nucor-Yamato finished its mill in 1987, kicking off a new era for manufacturing in the state. Nucor Steel Arkansas began production at a nearby facility in 1992 and expanded in 1998. Nucor has spent another $1 billion on upgrades since 2018.

When Lexicon was selected to build steel mills in northeast Arkansas, it took the company to the next level.

Tom was inducted into the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame in 2017, and former Nucor chairman Dan DiMicco spoke.

"You've got to have the drive, you've got to have the smarts, you've got to have a lot of common sense," DiMicco said that night. "You must have the ability to not only find good people but attract them to your organization. He was very successful at that. He didn't come up with a silver spoon in his mouth. ... He learned from scratch how to respect money, respect the bottom line, be conservative yet still be willing to take chances. He was a true entrepreneur in every sense of the word."

Patrick is quick to describe his late father as a "hard charger." Patrick wasn't sure at a young age that he wanted to go into the family business. That changed as he came to appreciate Tom's leadership style and work ethic.

Patrick told an interviewer last year: "I often find myself saying something that my dad would have said. Sometimes I mentally put myself in his shoes when making a hard decision. I've even asked my executive team: 'Hey, this is a big decision. What would Dad do?' Growing up, I swore I would never do that. As a company, Lexicon is on a huge growth trajectory right now. The industrial construction market is operating on a high level--one that I have not seen in my entire career.

"We're seeing the reshoring of America. I think in the next decade we'll see even more companies move from China and other countries back to the United States. I believe we will see more bills passed that include funding for different types of manufacturing such as microchips and electric vehicles. Companies are going to pull their plants from countries that aren't taking sustainability efforts seriously and move them back to the United States, where green energy is a priority."

Lexicon has been named a Top Specialty Contractor and a Top 20 Firm in Steel by Engineering News-Record. The American Institute of Steel Construction gave Lexicon five safety awards in 2023. In March of this year, Lexicon project administrator Magen Schlesier was named Woman of the Year by the Little Rock chapter of the National Association of Women in Construction.

Lexicon services now include construction management, steel fabrication, erection, mechanical installation and plant maintenance for heavy industrial, commercial and bridge projects. Lexicon is even involved in golf course construction, renovation and management services.

Lexicon affiliates include Custom Metals (focusing on plate and sheet fabrication, installation and maintenance), Prospect Steel (specializing in structural steel fabrication and erection), Steel Fabricators of Monroe, Lexicon Energy Services, Lexicon Industrial Constructors, Lexicon Industrial Maintenance and Heritage Links (the golf subsidiary).

Just as Patrick has taken Lexicon to the next level, the steel industry in Arkansas has gone to the next level.

In 2017, Big River Steel opened a $1.3 billion mill south of Osceola. There was a $716 million expansion of that facility in 2020. Construction then began on the $3 billion Big River Steel II plant (the largest private capital investment in Arkansas history), and it didn't slow down once Big River was purchased by U.S. Steel.

Meanwhile, steel industry visionary Dave Stickler is moving forward with Hybar's $700 million rebar plant at Osceola that will have jobs paying an average of $140,000 a year. That's not even to mention billionaire Gaylon Lawrence Jr.'s transformation of the old company town of Wilson, a few miles south of the two Big River mills, into a nationally known tourist destination and attractive place for steel executives to live.

Back in the northern part of Mississippi County, Nucor opened a $230 million specialty mill on its Hickman land in October 2019. Zekelman Industries built a tube mill adjacent to its existing Atlas Tube Mill, and Majestic Steel USA added a 515,000-square-foot facility on the Hickman campus.

Lexicon is playing a major roll in trying to prepare a workforce for the steel industry. In the spring of 2023, Lexicon launched LexU, a workforce development and training tool to help employees improve their skills and enhance career development. The company also announced a partnership with Arkansas Northeastern College at Blytheville.

Lex U is funded by Lexicon and is available to all employees. The program offers a combination of on-the-job, classroom and online training programs that can be completed at regularly scheduled times or at an employee's convenience through online work.

Patrick says labor market problems in recent years convinced him that the company had to invest more in training employees while also adding on-site health clinics and telemedicine.

Last month, senior managers from Lexicon were on hand at Blytheville as 13 students became the first graduates from Lexicon's master millwright program.

"The steel industry is a lifeline for communities across the state, especially in northeast Arkansas, the steel capital of America," Patrick said at the ceremony. "Lex U's programs--including this master millwright program at ANC--ensure we can train a highly skilled workforce. ... This inaugural class of master millwrights demonstrated unwavering dedication and perseverance to get to this day. This was a rigorous program, and many of our graduates have full-time jobs and families."

Christopher Heigle, the ANC president, called Lexicon's partnership "a testament to their forward-thinking approach since millwrights play a crucial role in optimizing the functioning of mechanical systems and minimizing production downtime."

In a guest column for several Arkansas publications, Patrick wrote: "One of the most promising trends we're seeing is the resurgence of interest in trade skills among Gen Z, which has recently been called the tool-belt generation. They bring energy, innovation and a fresh perspective that's essential for the evolution of the steel construction industry. In addition to this generation's aversion to taking on significant student debt, their renewed focus on the trades aligns perfectly with our strategic vision.

"By equipping them with the necessary skills and knowledge, we're not only addressing current labor shortages but also setting the stage for long-term industrial sustainability. This is why some of our highest priorities are continuing to spark interest and invest in ongoing educational opportunities in the steel industry."

Lexicon is involved outside Arkansas with the construction of everything from computer chip plants to electronic vehicle plants. Patrick, who played college basketball under Nelson Catalina at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, thinks northeast Arkansas is positioned to move into those and other manufacturing sectors.

"There aren't a lot of people who literally get to build America like we do," he says. "You get a little rust in your blood, and you just can't get rid of it. After Dad passed away, though, we realized we had to change as a company. No one executed like we did, but we realized we had to get rid of silos and start listening to our people. You must put people first these days. You have to understand their trials and tribulations. If you do that, the rest will take care of itself."