SeverCorr Launches Meltshop and Hot Mill Operations
08/30/2007 - Production of hot rolled steel coils is underway at SeverCorr with the start-up of operations in the facility’s new meltshop, caster, and hot mill.
SeverCorr has begun producing hot rolled steel coils with the start of operation in the facility’s new meltshop, caster, and hot mill.
“This is the announcement we’ve been eagerly waiting to make since the idea of building a steel mill began four years ago,” said John Correnti, SeverCorr’s CEO. “To be able to say we are making steel less than two years after breaking ground is a testament to the dedication and hard work of the entire SeverCorr team—our equity partners, lenders, equipment partners, construction crews and contractors—and most importantly, the men and women who have joined SeverCorr.”
Designed for producing high-quality exposed steels, the SeverCorr meltshop utilizes an SMS Demag electric arc furnace (EAF) capable of melting 1.7 million tons of steel annually. The eccentric bottom tapping DC furnace taps 165 tons, which is further treated in the facility’s ladle metallurgy furnace (LMF) and vacuum degasser. The meltshop is supported by a state-of-the-art alloy feed system supplied by Core Furnace Systems that includes flux-charging for the EAF and LMF, alloy-feeding systems for the ladle furnace and vacuum degasser, and metallics charging and carbon injection for the EAF.
With a 74-inch mold, SeverCorr’s caster is the widest of any continuous strip production system in North America. Superior surface quality is made possible, in part, with the caster’s electromagnetic brake that controls liquid steel fluid flow into the mold and a direct-drive hydraulic oscillator.
In phase one of SeverCorr’s operations, the six-stand hot mill will initially produce over 1.5 million tons of high-quality steels a year. 350,000 of that 1.5 million tons will be available for direct sale to customers in a gauge range of .054 to .500 inches. The balance of the hot bands will be further processed into hot rolled pickled and oiled products, cold-rolled products, and as substrate for the facility’s galvanizing line, which is scheduled to brought on-line in coming months.
The SMS Demag hot mill will utilize edge masking on the run-out table to minimize the amount of cooling water coming in contact with the hot band edges. This facilitates more-uniform cooling of the coiled hot band, resulting in better shape flatness. Another unique feature is a differential tension looper that allows the hot mill operator to correct shape flatness in the last rolling stand. Other features include CVC roll bending and shifting, and hydraulic AGC to more precisely control flatness and coil thickness respectively.
“Of course we are proud to be able to say we are now truly in the steel-making business,” Mike Wagner, SeverCorr’s Chief Commercial Officer, said. “But there is so much more to this announcement for us and for our team members. We know that together we are re-defining the steel industry in not only our equipment and manufacturing but through our sales and customer service processes. We are now living our mission of being the next-generation in steel.”
Construction of the SeverCorr facility has been one of the largest projects in the southern United States in recent years. Plans for an additional construction phase to expand capacity are currently in development.
SeverCorr was formed in 2003 to design, engineer, build and operate a state-of-the-art steel facility to service growing manufacturing opportunities in the Southern United States. When complete in the third quarter of 2007, the plant will produce 1.5 million tons of high-quality steels a year for use in the automotive, building, agricultural, pipe & tube, and appliance industries. The mill is situated on a 1400-acre mega-site designed to accommodate production partners and related manufacturers onsite.
