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First Heat in 100 Years for Southside Chicagoland Steel
11/03/2011 - A. Finkl & Sons, with the help of Great Lakes Mechanical Services and SMS Diemag, recently celebrated the first heat of a new steel-forging furnace in over 100 years on the southside of Chicago.
On June 2, 2011, A. Finkl & Sons, with the help of Great Lakes Mechanical Services in Crete, Ill., and SMS Diemag, celebrated the first heat of a new steel-forging furnace in over 100 years on the southside of Chicago.
Designed by SMS, the 90-ton electric arc furnace was assembled over the course of 16 months by Great Lakes Mechanical’s Gary Lombardi and staff, in conjunction with Finkl technicians.
Building the new furnace meant assembly from the ground up, including the hydraulic system and the furnace casing itself. “SMS’s plans often needed field modifications because of unexpected difficulties, and we were able to create redesigns that worked for Finkl and for SMS. Sometimes, what worked on paper just didn’t work in the field. We encountered—and managed—hundreds of challenges daily,” said Lombardi.
There were complications maintaining the proper temperature when alloys were added, solved by adjusting transformer taps. Located within Finkl’s new facility in Chicago and creating a high-quality steel product used in forging dies, plastic molds, die casting tools, custom open-dies, and other applications, the furnace now runs seven days a week, 10 hours a day.
“The first Southside heat in 100 years is pretty amazing by itself,” said John Guliana, Vice President of Engineering at Finkl. “But it’s even more—it’s so significant for Chicagoland steel. We are expanding, we’re growing, we’re going forward. This industry is turning around.”
“Onshoring or reshoring, the movement of manufacturing coming back to America, is real,” said Lombardi at Great Lakes. “We are seeing the evidence in Chicagoland. Businesses are frustrated with control issues and with unauthorized, unacceptable substitutes in raw materials and ingredients. Americans are becoming more willing to pay a dollar or two more for a higher quality item made in the USA.”
Finkl has been a leader in Chicago steel since 1879, now processing over 100,000 tons of steel each year. It is the first integrated steel manufacturer in America to receive ISO 9000 certification. Since Finkl’s inception, they have maintained a commitment to manufacture 100% of their products in Chicago. Those products are distributed domestically and to more than 18 countries worldwide. The company supplies forging die steels, plastic mold steels, die casting tool steels, custom open-die forgings, and cold work.
Great Lakes Mechanical serves not only the steel industry, but also works as millwright, welder, machinist, mechanic, and on-site maintenance service for all types of manufacturing and industry such as petrochemical, utility, railroad, forging, food processing, construction and distribution.
