Outokumpu Stainless USA Opens World-Class Melt Shop to the Media
01/30/2013 - Outokumpu Stainless USA opened the doors of its new melt shop for the first time on Thursday, 24 January 2013 for members of the media so they could get a first-hand view of the world class operation.
Outokumpu Stainless USA opened the doors of its new melt shop for the first time on Thursday, 24 January 2013 for members of the media so they could get a first-hand view of the world class operation. The company cast its first stainless slab on 16 November 2012 at the much anticipated melt shop and officially opened the final process at its Calvert site on 10 December. The melt shop was the last in a series of stainless manufacturing processes to come online at the site beginning in 2009. The opening of the melt shop means the company now has a fully integrated stainless manufacturing facility for the NAFTA market. Formerly known as ThyssenKrupp Stainless USA, the facilities in Calvert, as well as others around the globe, were officially acquired by Outokumpu on 28 December 2012. The acquisition makes Outokumpu the largest stainless manufacturer in the world, and the site in Calvert its most technologically advanced facility.
Guido Stebner, director of operations, led media on a personally-guided tour of the facility and live production flow, making stops at the electric arc furnace (EAF), argon oxygen decarburization convertor (AOD), ladle treatment and continuous caster.
“With this key part of the Calvert stainless mill complete, our facility is now a fully integrated mill, serving customers in the U.S., as well as sending hot band black to our sister company, Mexinox, in San Luis Potosi,” stated Mick Wallis, CEO of Outokumpu Stainless USA. The company will continue to ship raw materials upstream to feed the melt shop while sending finished product to the Port of Mobile for export.
Made possible by the investment in the Calvert mill, Outokumpu gains a significant growth opportunity in the NAFTA region. The integrated mill in Calvert, together with cold rolling operations and bright annealing line in San Luis Potosi, will provide a strong industrial platform with cost and quality leadership. In addition, the company will offer a broad product range, which includes 72” wide capabilities, the only one of its kinds in North America.
While the day belonged to experiencing the newly constructed melt shop, attention also focused on the 150 planned jobs Outokumpu Stainless USA is preparing to fill in the coming months. “With the ramp-up of the melt shop successfully underway, we have started the process of recruiting for the third and fourth shifts,” confirmed Dave Scheid, vice president of human resources. Today the company employs 745 team members at the Calvert stainless mill. These figures do not include the estimated 2,450 full-time and part-time jobs created or supported by the company in Mobile County, alone, just this past fiscal year.
The Mobile region and surrounding communities have played an important role in supporting the successful operations of Outokumpu Stainless USA. With great manufacturing talent from the region, as well as access to water, rail, and road, the company anticipates to compete among long-standing players in the U. S. stainless market. Although the stainless market, as others, has experienced hard times in the recent past, Wallis foresees a bright future in the NAFTA stainless market.
