News & Press Releases

London, April 01, 2021

Primetals Technologies replaced the LD (BOF) converter no. 2 at the Smederevo production location of the steel producer HBIS Group Serbia Iron & Steel LLC (HBIS Serbia) which went on stream in the beginning of November. In the meantime, the new converter has passed all the performance tests and received its PAC. The purpose of the project was to optimize the process and increase production capacity. This was achieved by a bundle of measures including increasing the volume of the converter vessel to 0.9 cubic meters per metric ton and installing a bottom-stirring system. The critical external dimensions remained unchanged, so the interfaces to the adjacent equipment could be retained. Nor was it necessary to modify the converter foundations or make structural changes to the converter platforms. The new converter has a tapping weight of 105 metric tons. It is equipped with a maintenance-free Vaicon Link 2.0 suspension system, new tilting drive, new bottom-stirring system, "dart" machine for slag retention, slag-splashing technology, and a new automation system.

London, March 30, 2021

Primetals Technologies will supply an RH degasser, continuous slab casting machine, and material handling equipment to AM/NS Calvert for their new steel meltshop. A 50/50 joint venture between ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel Corp. (NSC), the facility is located in Calvert, Alabama, USA. Once completed, the plant will be capable of annually producing 1.5 million tons of slabs to feed its existing hot strip mill. This expansion will give AM/NS Calvert full control of production quality and the flexibility to produce a broad spectrum of high-quality steel grades for the automotive industry. Construction is expected to take two years.

London, March 25, 2021

To support a long-term modernization and sustainability strategy, Southwire will install a new SCR-9000S copper rod mill. Primetals Technologies will be responsible for engineering, manufacturing, and commissioning the rolling mill and coiling equipment as part of the patented Southwire Continuous Rod (SCR) technology, which will produce electrolytic tough pitch (ETP) copper rods for electrical wire and cable applications. The mill will be installed at the Southwire facilities in Carrollton, Georgia, USA. The new rod mill will be capable of producing more copper rod than any other SCR rod system in the world.

London, March 23, 2021

Primetals Technologies has received an order from SSAB to modernize the existing Process Automation (Level 2) of the tandem cold rolling mill in Hämeenlinna. The Level 2 solution is state of the art and replaces the existing, obsolete process automation. More precise, coordinated set-points for threading and tailing out reduce off-gauge lengths. The system features ESXi virtualization and is therefore hardware neutral. Simulation on virtual machines enables calculations for new steel grades, thus giving the new solution Industry 4.0 capability. The scope of supply includes configuration, installation supervision, the system test and commissioning. The refurbishment is scheduled to be completed within just a few days during a planned shutdown in November 2021.

London, March 18, 2021

In late February, 2021 Primetals Technologies has received the final acceptance certificate for a new downcoiler installed at PJSC “Ilyich Iron and Steel Works of Mariupol” (Ilyich Steel), Ukraine. With this new hydraulic downcoiler Ilyich Steel extended its product range while improving coil telescopicity and winding density. The maximum coil weight was increased from 27 to 32 tons and the strip thickness from 8 to 16 mm at a hot yield stresses up to 400 MPa. This opens the future opportunity to expand the production range to high-strength steel grades and grades for gas and oil industry.