London, April 20, 2023

ArcelorMittal orders blast furnace copper staves for steel plants in Bremen and Gent

• Worn-out copper staves to be replaced at ArcelorMittal’s steel plants in Bremen and Gent
• Primetals Technologies’ hexagonal inserts ensure longer lifetime and lower operating costs
• Installation scheduled for end of 2023

Recently, ArcelorMittal ordered new copper staves from Primetals Technologies for its steel plants in Bremen and Gent. The steelworks in Gent has had problems with wear and bending of the current copper staves. Therefore, ArcelorMittal was searching for a substitute technology.

Bend prevention and greatly reduced wear

ArcelorMittal has ordered multiple rows of copper staves for the blast furnace in Gent, Belgium. The Gent copper staves feature Primetals Technologies’ well-proven anti-bending solution. The technology prevents stave corner bending caused by thermal effects and stave bending in the area of pipe connections. In turn, it helps to avoid cracking in critical weldments as well as an unnecessary loss of cooling water.

The rows of staves in the stack also feature slide-in hexagonal inserts. These inserts capture and retain unreduced materials on the hot face of the staves leading to significantly less wear and lower maintenance-related expenditures.

Several recent orders

Primetals Technologies will also supply ArcelorMittal with multiple rows of copper staves for the steel plant in Bremen, Germany. The current staves are at the end of their lifetime and ArcelorMittal has asked for replacement staves.

Over the last few years, ArcelorMittal has placed several stave orders with Primetals Technologies. In July 2022, new cast-iron staves were installed in the blast furnace at the steel producer’s plant in Newcastle, South Africa.

These staves feature a tailormade anti-bending solution and a fixing system that eliminates the risk of bolts being pulled out – a common cause of cooling pipe failures resulting in cooling water leakage into the furnace. In addition, Primetals Technologies will be supplying copper and cast-iron staves to ArcelorMittal Poland for the relining of a blast furnace.

A leading steel producer

The steel plant in Gent is part of ArcelorMittal Europe’s Flat Products division. The plant produces high quality flat products to serve various markets including the automotive, household electrical appliances, and construction industries. At the steel plant in Bremen, ArcelorMittal produces more than 3.6 million tons of steel per year for several markets, one of them being the automotive industry.

Copper staves with hexagonal inserts from Primetals Technologies ready for inspection prior to delivery.  

Primetals Technologies, Limited, headquartered in London, United Kingdom, is a pioneer and world leader in the fields of engineering, plant building, and the provision of lifecycle services for the metals industry. The company offers a complete technology, product, and services portfolio that includes integrated electrics and automation, digitalization, and environmental solutions. This covers every step of the iron and steel production chain—from the raw materials to the finished product—and includes the latest rolling solutions for the nonferrous metals sector. Primetals Technologies is a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Group Company, with around 7,000 employees worldwide. To learn more about Primetals Technologies, visit the company website www.primetals.com.