“This is a major investment in the Dearborn Works hot end, and many of the projects will improve the operation’s efficiency as well as reduce costs,” AK Steel chief operating officer Kirk Reich told analysts during a conference call to discuss its second-quarter earnings.

Among the projects that will be carried out during the outage: blast furnace lining repairs, installation of a new hydraulic ladle turret lift and an improved BOF lance cooling system, a new boiler hood system and downcomer, a new compartment for an electrostatic precipitator and new caster drives and drive controls.

All told, the improvements are expected to shave US$10/ton in costs at the steel shop.

“What it means to the shop is the overall throughput will be increased and the efficiency with which we can run that facility will be improved,” Reich said.