"It sends a chill up my back to able to sit in front of you today and now say we have successfully restarted steelmaking in 'The Valley,'” said Douglas R. Matthews, U. S. Steel senior vice president and chief commercial and technology officer for tubular and mining solutions. 

The furnace is housed at U. S. Steel’s Fairfield Works and will produce rounds for its tubular operations. The company idled Fairfield’s blast furnace and steelmaking operations in 2015.  

But Fairfield is once again making steel. The furnace struck its first arc in October and has moved into hot commissioning. The furnace and caster have produced prime pipe, and material is now undergoing customer qualification, company representatives said.  

Fairfield plant manager Mat Mathew said the goal is to be making 28 170-ton heats per day. 

“We’ve had a very successful ramp-up to date, developing capabilities and confidence in people, processes and equipment.” 

The furnace project, which came in on time and on budget, included a scrap yard, vacuum tank degassing, a ladle metallurgy facility and a revamped 4-strand rounds caster. 

“The completion of the electric arc furnace delivers on a commitment to add sustainable steelmaking to U. S. Steel’s footprint and plays a significant role in the company’s ‘Best of Both’ strategy,” said Brent Sansing, general manager of tubular operations.