ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih Celebrates Two Successful Years of Continuous Casting
08/26/2013 - The beginning of August marked an eventful period at ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, as the Ukrainian plant not only celebrated its 79th anniversary, but also two successful years of continuous casting.
The continuous casting department and facilities started operating in 2011, to fulfill the obligations undertaken as part of Kryvyi Rih’s sales and purchase agreement signed in October 2005. The project required a total investment of US$120m.
The continuous casting department today operates a ladle furnace as well as six radial-type strand billet casters, producing billets from carbon, structural and low-alloyed steel grades.
An event, attended by top managers as well as former and present employees, was organized on 2 August to celebrate the second anniversary of the casting line. The members of the projects team who played a pivotal role in setting up the continuous casting department were the guests of honor of the event, and were presented with honorary certificates. A seven-tonne, 3.5m sculpture made of five 150х150mm steel billets was also unveiled to mark the event.
Paramjit Kahlon, chief operating officer of ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih underlined how a quick completion of the project was made possible thanks to the unwavering commitment of the entire project team:
“The construction of the continuous caster started exactly 38 months ago. At the time, we had set ourselves an ambitious target to complete the project in record time. Many people have worked towards this target, and their huge efforts finally paid off, as the project was completed in only 18 months, five months ahead of schedule. This is a record within ArcelorMittal, and possibly also beyond – achieved thanks to the hard work of our experts, contractors and management alike. “
Already in April 2013, the continuous casting department had produced the first 1 million tonnes of finished products since its commissioning. Today, its production capacity is 100,000 tonnes per month. But the success story continues, and other important projects – such as upgrades of some production facilities and the construction of a second continuous casting machine – are already in the pipeline.
