Steel Times International July August 2019

AISTECH 2019

EUROCOKE 2019

METEC 2019

OXYGEN STEELMAKING

We report from Pittsburgh on the US steel industry’s positive attitude

Will coke be needed in 2030? One big question posed in Amsterdam

We report from Dusseldorf during a sweltering ‘Saharan heat bubble’

The UK steel industry is facing perilous times

www.steeltimesint.com July/August 2019 - Vol.43 No5

STEEL TIMES INTERNATIONAL – July/August 2019 – Vol.43 No5

Stainless Steel Pickling Line supplied

by John Cockerill Industry’s Metals Division to Foshan Chengde, China

BIG RIVER STEEL’S DAVE STICKLER AT METEC 2019: “BE SAFE, BE PROUD, MAKE MONEY”

STI Cover 2.indd 1

19/07/2019 13:59:58

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13.09.17 14:49

CONTENTS - JULY/AUGUST 2019

AISTECH 2019

EUROCOKE 2019

METEC 2019

OXYGEN STEELMAKING

We report from Pittsburgh on the US steel industry’s positive attitude

Will coke be needed in 2030? One big question posed in Amsterdam

We report from Dusseldorf during a sweltering ‘Saharan heat bubble’

The UK steel industry is facing perilous times

2 Leader

By Matthew Moggridge, editor, Steel Times International.

www.steeltimesint.com July/August 2019 - Vol.43 No5

STEEL TIMES INTERNATIONAL – July/August 2019 – Vol.43 No5

Picture courtesy of John Cockerill

Stainless Steel Pickling Line supplied

by John Cockerill Industry’s Metals Division to Foshan Chengde, China

4 News round-up The latest news and diary dates

BIG RIVER STEEL’S DAVE STICKLER AT METEC 2019: “BE SAFE, BE PROUD, MAKE MONEY”

STI Cover 2.indd 1

19/07/2019 11:03:20

EDITORIAL Editor Matthew Moggridge Tel: +44 (0) 1737 855151 matthewmoggridge@quartzltd.com Consultant Editor Dr. Tim Smith PhD, CEng, MIM Production Editor Annie Baker Advertisement Production Martin Lawrence SALES International Sales Manager Paul Rossage paulrossage@quartzltd.com Tel: +44 (0) 1737 855116 Sales Director Ken Clark kenclark@quartzltd.com Tel: +44 (0) 1737 855117

11 Latin America update Measuring the imports headache 13 USA update Tariffs and their inadvertent impact 16 METEC News We report from Dusseldorf.

18 Big River Steel’s Dave Stickler says: ‘Be safe, be proud, make money.’

Managing Director Steve Diprose stevediprose@quartzltd.com Tel: +44 (0) 1737 855164

24 Conference report: AISTech 2019 Weapons-grade positivity

Chief Executive Officer Paul Michael

1

29 Oxygen steelmaking Steel Arising by Professor Julian Allwood 30 Steel processing Advanced high strength steels by Kloeckner Metals 35 Lubrication Products for steelmakers 39 Electric steelmaking Increasing EAF safety and reliability at Ovako Hofors 47 Perspectives: A blast from the past 52 History The story of Alexander Raby

SUBSCRIPTION Elizabeth Barford Tel +44 (0) 1737 855028 Fax +44 (0) 1737 855034 Email subscriptions@quartzltd.com Steel Times International is published eight times a year and is available on subscription. Annual subscription: UK £195.00 Other countries: £270.00 2 years subscription: UK £350.00 Other countries: £485.00 ) Single copy (inc postage): £45.00 Email: steel@quartzltd.com

18

Published by: Quartz Business Media Ltd, Quartz House, 20 Clarendon Road, Redhill, Surrey, RH1 1QX, England.

Tel: +44 (0)1737 855000 Fax: +44 (0)1737 855034 www.steeltimesint.com Steel Times International (USPS No: 020-958) is published monthly except Feb, May, July, Dec by Quartz Business Media Ltd and distributed in the US by DSW, 75 Aberdeen Road, Emigsville, PA 17318-0437. Periodicals postage paid at Emigsville, PA. POSTMASTER send address changes to Steel Times International c/o PO Box 437, Emigsville, PA 17318-0437.

Printed in England by: Pensord, Tram Road, Pontlanfraith, Blackwood, Gwent NP12 2YA, UK ©Quartz Business Media Ltd 2019

ISSN0143-7798

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Contents.indd 1

July/August 2019

22/07/2019 11:00:22

2

LEADER

Stickler on ‘the cloud’: ‘we save a heck of a lot of money’

Matthew Moggridge Editor matthewmoggridge@quartzltd.com

July/August 2019

Leader.indd 1

Düsseldorf was sweltering in a Saharan heat bubble towards the end of June and my hotel room didn’t have any airconditioning. Fortunately, I was four floors up and could open the windows. Lying on top of the bed at night in the sweltering heat, listening to the city below, I felt a bit like Martin Sheen in the opening scenes of Apocalypse Now, except there wasn’t a fan whirring above me and I had no inclination to start self-harming, I just made sure I had enough mineral water.

It seems like only yesterday that Düsseldorf, my favourite German city, last played host to the gigantic METEC/GIFA exposition, but four years have passed since 2015 when the weather was equally hot, but perhaps not as oppressive.

METEC is a huge international event that occupies many halls and if you have any business with the global metals industry, it would have been foolhardy not to attend for the full week. Believe me, anybody who is anybody in metals was at METEC, and that included the steel industry’s big hitters, people like Dave Stickler, CEO of Big River Steel, the hi-tech Osceola, Arkansas-based minimill.

I hadn’t seen Dave since I interviewed him

exclusively back in October 2017, but there he was, holding court on the SMS stand, although the word ‘stand’ does little justice to the huge space occupied by the German plant builder. Stickler was there to discuss Big River Steel and the fact that his mill is currently running 10% over rated capacity and that, per employee, it is almost 10 times more profitable than US Steel – all of which is good news for SMS group, the company that supplied Big River Steel with the world’s first ‘learning mill’, a piece of technology that embraces digital manufacturing and big data and all the sort of things you can expect to hear about if you’re planning to attend the Future Steel Forum 2019 at the Sofitel Hotel in Budapest (25-26 September).

Big River Steel relies upon digitalisation and artificial intelligence. The company exists in ‘the cloud’ and Stickler has no qualms about it, pushing aside criticism that it leaves him exposed. ”I don’t have to spend the tens of millions of dollars on the big server platforms and I don’t need a 35-person IT department to maintain the servers,” he said.

Interested in hi-tech steelmaking?

Visit www.futuresteelforum.com

www.steeltimesint.com

19/07/2019 14:57:54

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• Turkey has announced that it won’t be imposing tariffs on steel imports from Brazil following the conclusion of an investigation into a dispute between the two countries.

Brazilian steel products exports to Turkey averaged 400kt/yr in 2016 and 2017.

Source: Reuters, 24 May 2019.

• Evraz North America is building a new rolling mill for the production of 100-metrelong premium quality rails.

The new mill, located in Pueblo, Colorado, is claimed to be the most modern rail rolling mill in North America with a production capacity of 670kt (short tons). The mill’s product range will include flat-bottom rails and thick-web rails up to 88kg per metre for heavy haul and high-speed railways.

Italian plant builder Danieli has been contracted to carry out the work.

Source: Danieli, 27 May 2019.

NEWS ROUND-UP • ArcelorMittal announces further measures to align production capacity with current market demand. The world’s biggest steelmaker plans to reduce primary steelmaking production at plants in Dunkirk, France, and Eisenhüttenstadt in Germany and also intends to reduce production in Bremen where it will tie in with a planned blast furnace stoppage. It has already announced idling production in Krakow, Poland, and reducing production in Asturias, Spain.

Source: ArcelorMittal, 29 May 2019.

• Three privately-owned steel mills in Shandong province are looking to move to a coastal hub in Rizhao. The companies concerned are: Weifang Special Steel Group, Luli Iron & Steel and Juneng Special Steel and they are in discussion with Rizhao Iron & Steel, which is already located in Rizhao. The aim of the relocation is to replace inefficient capacity with upgraded facilities, be closer to ports and boost operational efficiency.

Source: SP Global.com, 30 May 2019.

• Tata Steel’s bid for the debt-ridden Bhushan Energy has been approved by India’s National Company Law Tribunal. The NCLT has rejected Bhushan Energy’s Neeraj Singhal’s objections to the bid.

Source: Business Standard.com, 30 May 2019.

• A report by David Goldman of CNN Business claims that tariffs on Mexico will be bad for American business.

According to Goldman, ‘Protectionist trade policy can backfire.” He highlighted the case of Whirlpool when Trump imposed a 20% tariff on imported washing machines. The company added 200 jobs at its Ohio factory but then fell foul of Trump’s steel and aluminium tariffs as production costs went through the roof, Americans stalled on buying new washing machines and the company reported its first loss in 17 years.

Source: CNN.com, 31 May 2019.

• ThyssenKrupp has bought the elevator arm of the USbased Nashville Machine Company. There will be no job losses as all 131 members of staff at NMC will be taken on

by ThyssenKrupp. According to an online report, the Nashville Machine Company has been maintaining and installing lifts for around 100 years.

Source: Euronews.com, 31 May 2019.

• Russian steelmaker NLMK Group, a global steel company, has started hot testing at its briquetting plant, a facility to manufacture metallurgical briquettes for use in blast furnace operations. The project will enable the production of feedstock from blast furnace by-products, and the recycling of previously accumulated waste.

Source: NLMK, 30 May 2019.

• India is looking abroad for joint ventures with foreign steel mills in order to service its booming automotive sector. While plans between SAIL and ArcelorMittal to build an automotive steel plant has been ‘plagued with delays’, India wants to ‘stitch together’ deals with foreign mills because it is a big importer of high grade steels.

Source: Livemint.com

• And talking of Indian steelmaking, state-owned Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) has set a 17Mt steel production target for the 2019/2020 financial year. The company produced 16.3Mt last year, up 8% over the previous year. In 2017/2018 SAIL produced 15Mt of steel.

Source: Business Standard. com, 1 June 2019.

July/August 2019

Industry news.indd 1

19/07/2019 14:04:10

NEWS ROUND-UP

DIARY OF EVENTS

5

August

• Austrian steelmaker voestalpine’s 2018/19 figures are characterised by growing political and economic changes. Wolfgang Eder, chairman of the management board, said that the company’s earnings performance fell considerably short of the previous year’s results due to ‘external and internal negative factors’.

Revenue rose 5.1% from 12.9 billion Euros to 13.6 billion, but profit from operations (EBIT) dropped 33.9% from 1.18 billion Euros to just under 780 million Euros.

Source: Voestalpine, 5 June 2019

• Raw steel production at US Steel for the week ending 1 June 2019 was 1.89Mt (net tons) according to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). The figure was up 4.5% on last year’s 1.80Mt (net tons). US steel mills are operating above 80% of their capacity, says the AISI. Source: Nasdaq, 6 June 2019.

• The world’s biggest steelmaker, ArcelorMittal, plans to lay off 1,400 workers at the former Ilva steel plant in Taranto, Italy. It was a difficult decision, said AM’s Italia CEO, ‘but conditions are critical all over Europe’.

Source: S&P Global Platts, 5 June 2019

• Sarajit Jha, Tata Steel’s chief business transformation and digital solutions executive, has explained how the Indian steelmaker is ‘digitising everything from deployment of factory vehicles to improving material throughput to marketing and sales’. He said the company has ‘petabytes’ of structured and unstructured data waiting to be mined. Tata’s multicloud strategy, said Jha, will generate intelligence and create opportunities.

Source: India Times, 6 June 2019.

• Austrian steelmaker voestalpine has opened a new coatings facility in Walnut, California, USA. The plant is operated by EDRO Eng, which is part of voestalpine, and equipped with new PVD and sputtering coating systems. EDRO Eng is a supplier of custom mold bases, tool steels and non-ferrous alloys.

Source: The Fabricator.com, 6 June 2019.

• Deloitte CIS has joined forces with Russian steelmaker MMK to work on the creation of a digital strategy. The two companies signed an agreement in St Petersburg recently and Deloitte will now get to work on preparing a roadmap for the digitalisation of the business.

Source: International Mining, 6 June 2019 • Russian steelmaker MMK announces the construction of a logistics and production centre in Togliatti, Samara, Russia. The new facility will be operational during Q1 of 2021 and will, claims the company, ‘fully meet the automotive industry’s needs for the supply of MMK’s high-quality rolled products.

Source: MMK, 6 June 2019

13-15 8th International Conference on Modeling and Simulation of Metallurgical Processing in Steelmaking Location: Toronto, Canada.

Organised by AIST, USA. Otherwise known as SteelSim2019, this event is claimed to be excellent for producers, academia, researchers and engineers from around the globe to discuss recent developments related to modeling and simulation of the metallurgical processes.

Further information, log on to www.aist.org/conferenceexpositions/steelsim 26-28 SMU Steel Summit 2019 Location: Georgia International Convention Centre, Atlanta, USA. An event that is reportedly going from strength-tostrength having attracted over 900 attendees last year. The conference runs over three days and attracts big hitters like the SMA's president Philip K Bell and Mark Millet, president and CEO of Steel Dynamics Inc. Further information, log on to www.events.crugroup.com

September

• Russian steelmaker NLMK has announced that it will build a new recovery power plant at NLMK Lipetsk. It will run on by-product gases from hot-end operations. The company believes the project will enable a reduction in carbon oxide (CO) emissions of 3,000 tonnes/yr and a decrease in GHGs of 650kt/yr.

Source: NLMK, 7 June 2019

01-05 Euromat 2019 Location: City Conference Centre, Stockholm, Sweden.

Organised by The Swedish Society for Materials Technology A European congress and exhibition on advanced materials and processes at a venue just 10 minutes' walk from Stockholm Central Station.

Further information, log on to www.euromat2019.fems.eu 25-26 Future Steel Forum 2019 Location: Sofitel Hotel, Budapest, Hungary.

Organised by Quartz Business Media.

Now in its third successful year, the Future Steel Forum 2019 promises to be an interesting event for those involved in digital manufacturing and steel.

Leading speakers, including a Chinese steelmaker, will be present.

Further information, log on to www.futuresteelforum.com July/August 2019

Industry news.indd 2

19/07/2019 14:04:43

6

INDUSTRY NEWS

• An article in the UK Financial Times reports that Siemens UK boss Jurgen Maier believes that the UK’s lack of A coherent rail strategy was a contributory factor in the demise of British Steel. Source: Financial Times, 8 June 2019.

• A report by Make UK found that manufacturers are stepping up to the plate where sustainability was concerned. 71% of those surveyed claimed that the last environmental improvement carried out reduced costs. Half of respondents said they were taking steps towards greater energy efficiency and over one fifth said they were pushing the envelope with cutting edge energy efficiency projects.

Source: Make UK, 10 June 2019

• JFE says it will pass on the ‘surging cost’ of iron ore to its customers in order to protect margins. Global supply of iron ore was curbed after a fatal dam disaster in May at a Vale SA site. Bloomberg claims that ‘while benchmark prices have since eased, they’re still near $100 a ton as the tightness is exacabated by record steel production in China’.

Source: Bloomberg, 10 June 2019

• The potential threat of a wider financial crisis in China looms as a Chinese bank falls under state control for the first time in 18 years. Baoshang Bank, which is 600 km west of Beijing, was taken over on 24 May because it was bankrupt.

“Many people came to take out cash,” said Zhang, a taxi driver. • Liberty Steel, headed by Source: Asia.Nikkei.com, Sanjeev Gupta and part of 10 June 2019 the global GFG Alliance, has acquired Johnstown Wire Technologies (JWT).

The acquistion expands the company's US footprint in the downstream products market.

Source, Liberty Steel, 10 June 2019.

July/August 2019

Industry news.indd 3

• In the United Kingdom, the House of Commons’ business, energy and industrial strategy select committee has launched an inquiry in to the future of the UK steel industry.

The former owners of British Steel will be called to give evidence. The first evidence session was held on 26 June.

Source: SP Global Platts, 10 June 2019

• ArcelorMittal, the largest steelmaker in the world, is responsible for approximately 0.7% of all global carbon emissions. The company has set a goal of achieving carbonneutral operations in Europe by 2050.

Source: Mighty Earth, 11 June 2019

• The European Union has officially blocked the planned merger between ThyssenKrupp and Tata Steel, which one online report describes as a landmark joint venture. Concessions offered by the two companies were not adequate, it is claimed, and ‘imports from third countries would not be able to offset price hikes resulting from the deal’.

Source: Reuters, 11 June 2019

• Leading US steelmakers say they won’t be seeking cross border mergers and acquisitions in the light of tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump. AK Steel’s Roger Newport and Nucor’s John Ferriola both say there is no need and that they will continue to focus on the US domestic market.

Source: Asia Times, 13 June 2019 • American steelmaker US Steel is reportedly in talks to sell its Kosice steelworks in Slovakia to China’s HE Group for US$1.4 billion.

Source: Asia Times, 13 June 2019

www.steeltimesint.com

19/07/2019 14:05:06

INDUSTRY NEWS

• An inquiry into the collapse of British Steel has been delayed until the autumn, according to online reports, because it is feared the findings might hamper efforts to find a new buyer.

Source: City AM.com, 13 June 2019

• Premal Desai has been appointed as CEO for ThyssenKrupp AG’s steel business. Andreas Goss will resign as CEO of ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe AG by mutual agreement following the failure of the TK/ Tata Steel merger.

Source: Bloomberg, 14 June 2019 • The State Government in Karnataka, India, is to review its decision to grant land to JSW Ballary, a steelmaker. Originally, a tract of land, roughly 3,600 acres, had been granted to the Indian steelmaker, but stiff opposition had forced a rethink.

Source: United News of India, 14 June 2019

www.steeltimesint.com

Industry news.indd 4

• ThyssenKrupp Materials Services, is using an artificial intelligence-based ‘bot’ called Alfred to manage its global logistics network, covering 271 warehouse sites. The bot is currently used to optimise transport routes, making materials ‘readily available at the right locations.

Source: Technology Record, 14 June 2019

• India has decided to increase tariffs on 29 highvalue US agricultural and industrial imports by up to 50%. The start date was Sunday 16 June. The move comes after a year of hesitation from India following US President Donald Trump’s decision not to exempt India from its 25% and 10% steel and aluminium tariffs.

Source: Business Standard, 15 June 2019

• In India, 60% of steel is consumed by the construction industry and about 25% to 30% of steel consumption in construction comes from infrastructure spending.

Source: The Economic Times, 17 June 2019 • US Steel's 100-yearold Clairton coke plant in Pittsburgh, USA, has prompted the Allegheny Health Department to issue more warnings following another fire at the facility last month.

A report by the Wall Street Journal says that people with respiratory problems, the elderly and children were warned of the potential for higher sulfur dioxide levels in the air.

Source: Wall Street Journal, 17 June 2019

• “Slopping” has been blamed for an orange cloud of emissions hanging over the homes of local residents in the vicinity of Tata Steel’s Port Talbot steelworks.

The company says that the infrequent problem of ‘slopping’ occurs when slag foam escapes from the top of the steelmaking vessel. Needless to say, the explanation hasn’t changed the mood of people living close to the plant. “Nobody wants the place to close down. It creates many, many jobs, but it’s a slap in the face that they say this happens infrequently,” a local resident told Wales Online.

Source: Wales Online, 15 June 2019

7

• ArcelorMittal South Africa’s environmental manager Johan Hattingh has found himself in hot water following concern over the company's contravention of environmental pollution laws. Mr Hattingh has been summoned to appear in the Vanderbijlpark Regional Court on 26 June to answer criminal charges of having violated the South African Air Quality Act. Source: Eastern Eye.biz, 17 June 2019

• Environmental organisation Mighty Earth has officially become a member of ResponsibleSteel, a global, multi-stakeholder, notfor-profit standard and certification initiative for the responsible sourcing and production of steel.

Mighty Earth has joined ResponsibleSteel to help address the outsized climate impact of steel and the entire heavy industrial sector. It is the first US-based organisation to join the initiative.

Source: Mighty Earth, 18 June 2019

For more steel industry news and features, visit www.steeltimesint.com July/August 2019

19/07/2019 14:05:25

8

INDUSTRY NEWS

• At approximately 7.5 million square feet in area, Beijing Daxing Airport in China will be the biggest terminal in the world when complete.

Thyssenkrupp Elevator has won an order to supply it with 155 elevators and 22 escalators.

Source: Global Construction Review, 18 June 2019

• South Korean steelmaker POSCO will attend a provincial government hearing that it requested to discuss allegations that the company emitted ‘unnecessary levels of air pollutants by illegally releasing gas from a blast chamber’. POSCO was ordered to shut down the blast furnace of its Gwangyang mill in South Jeolla for 10 days in April.

Source: Korea Joongan Daily, 18 June 2019

• Iranian steelmakers exported 1.04Mt of steel between 21 March and 21 May, registering a year-on-year decline of 15% according to data released by the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organisation (IMIDRO). Between April and May 609kt was shipped, down 31% when compared with the previous year.

Source: Financial Tribune, 18 June 2019

• German steelmaker Saarstahl AG has invested 17 million Euros on expanding heat treatment capacity at its Saarstahl-Blankstahl subsidiary’s Homburg facility.

The latest news is in response to increased worldwide demand for heat-treated bar material and demand for higher-quality steels.

Source: Saarstahl AG, 19 June 2019

• A report by CNN Business claims that ‘pain has returned to the US steel industry’. US Steel, it is claimed plans to idle two blast furnaces, one in Gary, Indiana; the other in Ecorse, Michigan. Together, both idled furnaces will cut production by around 200kt/month, according to US Steel.

Source: CNN.com, 19 June 2019 July/August 2019

Industry news.indd 5

• Böhler Edelstahl, a voestalpine group company, has secured a new contract with Rolls Royce for the supply of rotating engine disks. The contract with RollsRoyce extends over a period of ten years, with the first deliveries scheduled for 2020.

For a number of years, voestalpine has supplied Rolls-Royce with highquality steel alloys for engine components from its Kapfenberg facility in the Austrian federal state of Styria.

Source: voestalpine, 19 June 2019 • US-based World Steel Dynamics has named South Korean steelmaker POSCO as its ‘world’s most competitive steelmaker’. The company has picked up the accolade consecutively for the past 10 years. The rankings were announced during the 2019 Steel Survival Strategies in New York last month.

Source: Hani.co.kr, 19 June 2019

German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp aims to be climate neutral by 2050 by cutting its GHG emissions to zero. The company hopes to cut emissions from production and outsourced energy by ‘around 30%’.

Source: Clean Energy Wire, 3 July 2019.

Tata Steel India, according to people ‘with knowledge of the matter’ is looking to raise as much as $500 million overseas largely to fund second-phase expansion of its Kalinganagar steel plant in Odisha. The aim is to raise capacity by 5Mt/yr to 8Mt/yr Source: Economic Times, 3 July 2019

South Korean steelmaker POSCO has joined the World Economic Forum’s global Lighthouse Network. Socalled ‘lighthouse factories’ are advanced in applying the technologies of the ‘fourth industrial revolution’, or Industry 4.0, such as the internet of things, artificial intelligence and big data.

Source: South Korea Herald, 3 July 2019. www.steeltimesint.com

19/07/2019 14:05:57

AMAZING FACTS

• It takes more than eight hours of constant heating at 1 000°C to turn coal into the coke that is then mixed with iron ore to make steel.

Source: Mail & Guardian, 22 March 2019

• ArcelorMittal, the largest steelmaker in the world, is responsible for approximately 0.7% of all global carbon emissions. The company has set a goal of achieving carbon-neutral operations in Europe by 2050.

• The 2019 North American light vehicle is estimated to have an average of 1480 pounds of flat rolled steel compared to 1615 pounds in 2013, correlating precisely to the overall reduction in average vehicle curb weight.

Source: Kloeckner Metals

www.steeltimesint.com

Industry news.indd 6

• The 2015 AHSS use in North America-produced light vehicles is expected to grow significantly to 570 pounds by 2025. Aluminium will also continue to gain share of curb weight, increasing by about 20 pounds per vehicle by 2020.

Source: Kloeckner Metals

• According to market forecasts, 40,000 new aircraft will be built over the coming 20 years.

Source: voestalpine

• Fabric dust filters in steel plants typically have a collection efficiency rate of more than 99% even when particle size is very small.

Source: worldsteel.

• 'Beyond 2020, we expect AHSS pounds per vehicle to decline as UHSS grows.

UHSS has grown since 2013, weighing in at 351 pounds in 2019 and an estimated 483 pounds in 2025.'

Source: Kloeckner Metals

• While over 12,700 jobs have been created or saved in US-based steel and aluminium factories since the imposition of the tariffs last year, US consumers and businesses have been paying more than $ 900,000 a year for each job saved or created.

Source: Peterson Institute for International Economics

9

• Steel demand in India will touch 300Mt/yr by 2030-31 Source: Business World.in

• High-Strength Steels (HSS) can help to make machinery up to 30-50% lighter without compromising.

Source: worldsteel • Ship hulls are made of steel plates that are welded together. CO2 emissions per tonne of cargo transported over 1km by ship are 3g, whereas by train and lorry it is 45g and 560g respectively.

Shipping goods by sea typically costs 12-16 times less than sending them by air.

Source: worldsteel

• South Korean steelmaker POSCO produced 71Mt of greenhouse gases in 2017, accounting for 11.3% of total emissions by South Korean companies.

Source: Korea Corporate Governance Service • Travelling by train can reduce CO2 emissions by 91% and 88% compared to flying and driving respectively.

Source: worldsteel

July/August 2019

19/07/2019 14:06:27

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11

LATIN AMERICA UPDATE

Measuring the imports headache

In May, the Latin America Steel Association (Alacero) released its annual statistical report on the relationship between the region and China. Since its first edition was published in 2007, the annual report has been providing a comprehensive analysis of the direct and indirect steel trade. As things have changed significantly, it seems wise to take another look. By Germano Mendes da Paula* ALACERO’S first report was called ILAFA and it showed that Chinese steel direct exports to Latin America were relatively marginal during the period 2001-2005, ranging from 86kt to 278kt. It then skyrocketed to 1.6Mt and 0.8Mt in 2006. Consequently, the total figure was 2.4Mt (STI, Nov-Dec 2007, p.12).

Moreover, the first report estimated that indirect Chinese steel exports to Latin America increased from 1.0Mt in 2004, to 1.8 Mt in 2005 and even to 2.6Mt in 2006.

In the same period, China’s indirect imports from the region reached just 55kt, 43kt and 74kt, respectively. ILAFA also published financial data demonstrating that in 2006 direct Chinese steel exports to the region achieved $1.8bn, whereas the respective number for indirect exports totalled $10.2bn.

Alacero’s 2019 report Direct Chinese steel exports to Latin America, including finished products and transformed products, reached 7.3Mt in 2018, implying a 4% enlargement in comparison with the previous year (Table 1). The main destinations of finished steel

and transformed steel from China to Latin America were Chile, which received 1.5Mt (21% of the regional total), Central America (1.2Mt or 17%) and Peru (1.1Mt or 15%).

It is important to highlight that Brazil was the fourth destination of this flow in the region with 1.0Mt, resulting in a 20% import jump. It was followed by Colombia (0.78Mt), Ecuador (0.54Mt) and Mexico (0.50Mt).

2017

2018

Chile

1.379

1.525

Central America

1.400

1.253

Peru

962

Brazil

The mentioned trade flow generated revenues of $4.4bn in 2017 and $5.5bn in 2018 to China (Table 2).

Regarding the latter, distribution among the countries was as follows: Chile (19.9%), Central America (15.5%), Brazil (15.3%), Peru (13.7%), Colombia (10.1%), Mexico (9.2%), Ecuador (7.5%), Argentina (1.3%), Paraguay (0.5%), Venezuela (0.4%), and the others (6.5%).

2017

2018

Chile

840

1.100

Central America

786

854

1.080

Brazil

613

845

862

1.035

Peru

550

758

Colombia

627

784

Colombia

367

558

Ecuador

487

535

Mexico

417

507

Mexico

530

502

Ecuador

303

415

Argentina

62

61

Argentina

66

74

Paraguay

35

31

Paraguay

27

28

Venezuela

104

19

Venezuela

111

24

Others

537

454

Others

351

359

6.986

7.280

4.432

5.522

Latin America

Latin America

Table 1. Chinese steel direct exports to Latin America by

Table 2. Chinese steel direct exports to Latin America by

country, 2017-2018 (kt). Source: Alacero

country, 2017-2018 ($M). Source: Alacero

* Professor in Economics, Federal University of Uberlândia, Brazil. E-mail: germano@ufu.br www.steeltimesint.com

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LATIN AMERICA UPDATE

Flat products concentrated 72% of the total of finished and transformed steel from China to Latin America (5.2 Mt) in 2018, increasing its volume 10% versus 2017 (4.7 Mt). Long products reached a volume of 1.1 Mt, representing 15% of the total and performing 11% less than in 2017 (1.2 Mt).

Seamless pipe imports rose marginally from 250kt in 2017 to 278kt in 2018, which was equivalent to a 3.8% share. Transformed product volumes were 754kt in 2017 and 688kt in 2018, corresponding to a 9% drop. Its respective relative importance in terms of tonnage was 9.5%.

Another key finding referred to the share of direct imports as a proportion of regional apparent steel consumption, which has slightly diminished from 37.5% in 2017 to 35.1%. However, the relative importance of China in this import amount enlarged, respectively, from 25.2% to 28.1%.

Last, but definitely not least, Chinese exports of indirect steel trade climbed from $40.7bn in 2017 to $47.5bn in 2018. The volume of steel in products that came from the Asian giant expanded from 6.1Mt to

2017

2018

Cars and commercial vehicles

996

1.153

Other metal items

998

1.098

Other electrical machineries

590

983

Wire derived items

609

646

Manual machines

596

573

Machines and equipment

514

532

Bombs and components

346

369

Bicycles and motorcycles

368

367

Structures

405

335

Domestic appliances

300

293

Barrels, tanks and drums

124

189

Metallic furniture

56

64

Railways

58

49

Office machines

49

42

Tool machines

26

30

Boilers and steam generators

19

23

Agriculture machinery

18

22

Cans and metal packing boxes

13

12

Planes

3

9

Heating equipment

1

1

6.090

6.791

Total

Table 3. Chinese steel indirect exports to Latin America by country, 2017-2018 (kt of contained steel). Source: Alacero

6.8Mt, correspondingly (Table 3). Among the products that arrived in the region, cars and commercial vehicles contributed with 1.2 Mt of contained steel. Other metal items represented an additional 1.1Mt, followed by other electrical machineries (with 1.0Mt).

Nevertheless, bearing in mind all types of machines and equipment jointly, the sum was 2.6Mt. It is worth stressing that wire-derived items were responsible for 0.65Mt. Therefore, long steelmakers are also affected by indirect steel imports.

Since its first edition in 2007, ILAFA/ Alacero statistical reports on the steel value chain’s trade flows between the region and China has been providing crucial data on this important issue. In 2007, Chinese direct exports were equivalent to 1.6Mt and the indirect ones, to 2.6Mt. Last year, the respective figures were 7.3Mt and 6.8Mt. Taking into consideration the two types together, the volume boosted by 235%, while in the same period, Latin American steel consumption improved by only 13%, magnifying the Chinese headache. �

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July/August 2019

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22/07/2019 08:19:19

USA UPDATE

13

Tariffs and their inadvertent impact Arcelor Mittal urges Europeans to respond with suitable measures to stop steel oversupply resulting from US tariffs. By Manik Mehta* THE steel world has been in disarray ever since US President Donald Trump used Section 232 to impose steel and aluminium import tariffs in 2017. While US steelmakers applauded the President’s action against the “unchecked inflow” of foreign steel imports, the industries that consume steel for their products were resentful because tariffs translate as a price hike for their products, which would have to be passed on to the consumers.

It has been a vicious circle: President Trump, while winning plaudits, also got an earful from a number of industries that rely heavily on steel imports and felt that this would hit their business as end-consumers in the United States are becoming increasingly price conscious. Steel made in the US is not only more expensive, but also the quantity produced is not enough to meet demand from consuming industries.

Though Trump has taken aim at China and other supplying nations for what is described as their ‘manipulative business practices’ and offloading their overcapacity in the US market, the US President’s measures have also affected Europeans who are now seeing excessive inflow of steel produced outside their borders with

the US tariff hurdles precluding unhindered imports.

Lakshmi Mittal, (pictured above), the chief executive of Arcelor Mittal, touched on the European problem in a recent interview with a German daily, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, and urged the European Union to take further measures to protect Europe’s steel industry as the excessive steel capacity was now being diverted to Europe following the US tariffs.

Mittal, while understanding Trump’s action,

urged the European Commission not to lift the protection given to Europe’s steel industry; the Commission is reviewing the measures taken to restrict the surging steel imports into Europe following the US tariffs which have slowed down steel imports into the US. Mittal, whose comments in the interview evoked interest in the US, called on the EU to take further measures which were urgently needed as imports into Europe have risen sharply since President Trump’s tariffs on steel imports into the US. The European steel industry is facing sluggish demand and, at the same time, excessive supplies of imported steel which is being diverted to Europe following the US tariff imposition. Mittal pointed out the shortcomings in the EU’s safeguard measures, resulting in a 30% to 40% rise in steel imports in the European market since the US tariff imposition.

The Arcelor Mittal CEO was quoted as saying that there was an overcapacity of some 500 to 550Mt in the steel industry, the equivalent of a quarter of global steel production.

Meanwhile, the situation is quite different on the US import front. Based on the US

* USA correspondent www.steeltimesint.com

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USA UPDATE

Commerce Department’s Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis (SIMA) data, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) the AISI calls itself the “voice” of the North American steel industry in the public policy arena and advances the case for steel in the marketplace as the preferred material of choice – reported that steel import permit applications for the month of May totalled 2.58Mt (net tons), down 10.8% from 2.80Mt (permit tons) recorded in April and a 21.9% decrease from the April preliminary imports total of 3.30Mt. In May, the largest finished steel import permit applications for foreign supplying countries were for:• South Korea (296kt – net tons), up 8% from April; • Japan (123kt – net tons) down 22%, • Germany (77kt – net tons) down 46%; • Taiwan (76kt – net tons) up 8%; and • Vietnam (60kt – net tons) down 24%.

In the first five months of 2019, the biggest foreign suppliers were; • South Korea (1,29Mt – net tons) down 16% from the same period last year; • Japan (610kt – net tons) and no change from April, and • Germany (530kt – net tons) down 4%.

The debate over the use of Section 232, based on national security considerations, does not seem to be ending, with consuming industries voicing deep concern over rising prices for steel used in the manufacture of their products. President Trump’s trade war hinges on Section 232 as far as the steel and aluminium tariffs are concerned.

Besides imposing tariffs on $250 billion worth of goods from China, the President has withdrawn some trade concessions to Turkey and India.

As the trade war escalates, President Trump increased tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods from 10% to 25%, and China retaliated by increasing tariffs on $60 billion worth of US goods – there are many who are saying ‘enough’ and want to put an end to the ongoing conflict which is harming trade and business, not to mention the overall effect it has on the purse strings of the average consumer who has to pay more. President Trump may be claiming ‘victory’ in the trade war, but even the steel industry, which applauded the tariffs that curbed the import glut, is quietly seeing some not-so-nice effects of the conflict. At the time of going to press, for instance, the July/August 2019

USA.indd 2

steel stocks of US Steel, AK Steel, and Steel Dynamics recorded a 52-week low.

Steel stocks had also fallen last year. But one conspicuous exception was ClevelandCliffs (CLF), which supplies iron ore to US steel companies, and whose stock surged some 22% this year.

Some pundits conclude that the Section 232 tariffs imposed in March 2018 have not helped the stocks of US steel companies. US Steel and AK Steel were trading far below the price levels they were at when the tariffs were announced. But the tariffs and the surging US steel prices did help Nucor and Steel Dynamics post record earnings last year.

undeterred and feel that there is still “room to grow” as far as production is concerned, unfazed by reports about existing oversupply in the domestic market.

Indeed, none of the US steel manufacturing companies has publicly announced that production would be cut.

Even as the uncertainty continues in the market, President Trump claimed that tariffs had indeed contributed to rebuilding the US steel industry. He maintained in a tweet that alone in one year, “Tariffs had rebuilt our steel industry – It is booming!” He reminded us that the US had placed a 25% tariff on ‘dumped’ steel from China and other countries, and ‘we now have a big

But experts are also baffled by the seeming lack of investor interest in steel stocks despite the significant improvement in earnings by steel companies. The investors’ hands-off approach towards steel stocks may be due to several reasons, including the decline in steel prices to levels before the introduction of the tariffs, China’s economic slowdown which pressurised Chinese steel prices which, in turn, have impacted steel prices elsewhere.

China, besides being the world’s largest steel manufacturer and supplier, is also the biggest consumer of the metal. The uncertainty over the continuing Section 232 tariffs is also having a negative effect on the market.

Nevertheless, it must be said that steel manufacturers have, so far, remained

and growing industry’. “We had to save steel for our defense and auto industries, both of which are coming back strong!” he said.

While over 12,700 jobs have been created or saved in the steel and aluminium factories since the imposition of the tariffs last year, US consumers and businesses have been paying more than $900,000 a year for each job saved or created by Trump’s steel tariffs, according to the figures provided by the Peterson Institute for International Economics to The Washington Post.

That is reportedly more than 13 times the typical salary of a steelworker, according to the Labour Department.

Tariffs are a double-edged sword: while it can wound the opponents, it can also hurt the person who wields the sword. � www.steeltimesint.com

19/07/2019 15:04:40

100 RSB速 REFERENCES WORLDWIDE

KNOW-HOW FOR TOMORROW

RSB速, SCS速 and KOCKS rolled速 are German trademarks registered by KOCKS.

A HUNDRED TIMES APPROVED. NO WORDS NECESSARY.

16

METEC NEWS

Breakthrough from Primetals The world's first direct reduction process for iron ore concentrates from ore beneficiation that does not require any pre-processing, such as sintering and pelletising, has been developed by Primetals Technologies.

The development of the new process will benefit from Primetals' prior experience with its Finmet development and plant installations, the company claims.

FINMET technology is a fluidised bed reduction technology for direct reduction of iron ore using natural gas. It was developed by Primetals Technologies when it was known as Siemens VAI. The new development is also based on a fluidised bed system as reducing reactor. Its development was based in part on the development of the FINMET plants, but was not a direct development. "The knowledge gained during Finmet's development aided the development of the new technology," said Primetals.

The new technology uses iron ore of a different size, a different pressure level and Hydrogen as reducing agent.

According to Primetals, the new technology can be applied to all types of beneficiated ore and particle sizes of 100% smaller than 0.15mm.

The new process uses H2 from renewable energy or H2 rich gases from conventional steam reformers or H2 rich waste gases.

"This results in a low or even zero CO2 footprint," claims Primetals.

The new direct reduction plant is modular in design and has a rated capacity of 250kt/yr and per module, making it available for all sizes of steel plant. The plan is to set up a pilot plant for testing purposes at voestalpine Stahl Donawitz in Austria. Commissioning will be in Q2 2020.

Primetals said that the use of Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) and Hot Briquetted Iron (HBI) is increasing as steelmakers look for ways to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. At present, all

available technologies require agglomeration, like pelletising, to produce DRI and HBI. Furthermore, reduced quality iron ore presents an additional challenge for steelmakers and results in the need to beneficiate the iron ores.

For CO2-free steelmaking to happen, a process using mainly H2 is considered most desirable.

The planned pilot plant will consist of a pre-heating-oxidation unit, a gas treatment plant and the actual reduction unit. Fine ore concentrate is heated to approximately 900 deg C in the pre-heating-oxidation unit and fed into the reduction unit. The reduction gas, H2, is supplied by an external gas supplier. A waste heat recovery

system from the off-gas ensures optimal energy use and a dry dedusting system takes care of dust emissions from the processes involved. The hot direct reduced iron (HDRI) leaves the reduction unit at a temperature of approximately 600 deg C 'which can be subsequently used in an electric arc furnace or to produce HBI. The pilot plant, says Primetals, will verify the break-through process and serve as a testing facility to provide the data basis for setting up an industrial-scale facility at a later date.

For further information, log on to www.primetals.com

Friedrich Kocks pushed the boat out at METEC to celebrate the 100th delivery of its reducing and resizing block (RSB). Kocks, known within the steel industry as ‘a supplier of proven mature engineering and equipment’, supplied its 100th RSB to Chinese steelmaker Jiangsu Yonggang Group. According to Kocks, Yonggang ‘aims to play an outstanding role among the leading SBQ producers in tomorrow’s challenging world’.

For further information, visit www.kocks.de

www.steeltimesint.com

innovations - METEC REVIEW.indd 1

19/07/2019 14:11:53

17

SMS Group confirms ‘full liner’ status and jobs going forward.

SMS Group’s chief executive officer, Burkhard Digitalisation will be responsible for higher Dahmen, told journalists at the METEC trade investments this year compared to last, and the fair, of which Mr Dahmen is president, that his company is expecting orders and, therefore, sales company is the clear global market leader in metin the region of EUR 3 billion. allurgical plant construction. “We have a global Chief operating officer Michael Rzepczyk presence and are the leading company in all major praised the company’s CSP technology, which markets in terms of order and sales volume,” he is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. CSP said. combines casting, heating and rolling in a single Dahmen was heading up his company’s annual line allowing high-quality hot-rolled strip to be press conference and was accompanied by leading produced very efficiently, he said. In 1989 Nucor SMS Group figures such as Torsten Heising, chief Corporation in the USA became the first financial officer, Michael Rzepczyk, chief recipient of a CSP system, marking operating officer, the company’s chief the beginning ‘of a unique success technology officer Hans Ferkel and story’. chief digital officer Katja Windt.

“Our most recent successful SMS Group, said Dahmen, commissioning was at Big River is known in the industry as a Steel in the USA,” Rzepczyk ‘full liner’. “This means that we said, claiming that the system supply all plants including our in operation in Osceola, Arkanown automation systems used to produce the full range of sas, was the widest plant in the metals products,” he explained, world, setting new standards in adding that, as the world’s largest the field of digitalisation. suppler, the company covers the entire Hans Ferkel, SMS Group’s chief Katya Windt metals value chain from blast furnaces, technology officer, spoke at length about rolling mills, finishing plants and forging sustainability. He said that technological presses, not forgetting technical service. and economic progress can only be achieved Highlighting some of the key points from SMS when due consideration is paid to sustainability.

Group’s current annual report, Torsten Heising According to Ferkel, the steel industry accounts for told journalists that the company’s order intake approximately 6% of global CO2 emissions. “It is totalled EUR3.1 billion, higher than the previous the industry’s stated goal to substantially minimise year’s figure. He said that the company had these emissions and even eliminate them in the grown the service segment of its business and long term,” he said. claimed that its order backlog, at EUR3.6 billion, Ferkel said CO2 emissions could only be sub‘remained at a high level’, securing sales volume stantially reduced or avoided by developing a new

route to crude steel production. “The most promising route at present consists of hydrogen-based direct reduction and the electric arc furnace,” he said. ‘Green hydrogen’ is the key to achieving largely carbon-neutral crude steel production, according to Ferkel.

SMS Group’s chief digital officer, Katja Windt, spoke of how SMS Digital, a start-up business, has doubled its team and now has 100 employees worldwide working in digitalisation, mostly in Germany, but also in the USA and China.

“Digitalisation is also the focus of our trade fair presence, in particular the road to the global industry benchmark of the [so called] learning steel plant,” Windt said.

Windt spoke of SMS Digital’s integrated approach comprising an internal and external view.

“We are gearing up our processes for the fourth industrial age,” she said, and went on to explain how the company was pursuing its objectives ‘comprehensively and systematically’.

However, she also said that SMS Group - ‘too often in the past’ - had under-valued the software it sold and was now seeking to earn directly from the success of its applications.

Burkhard concluded the press conference, claiming that SMS Group was engaged in and driving forward the core areas of development in the industry: digitalisation and CO2 avoidance. “We are on a growth path and are closely monitoring the market with a view to potential acquisitions,” he commented.

For further information, log on to www.sms-group.com

Leading edge technology PSI Metals GmbH used METEC to launch its new PSImetals Service Platform (PSImetals SP).

“Our new software foundation incorporates all the requirements of a future-proof production management solution,” the company said.

PSI described the new platform as ‘leading edge technology’ that will ‘further unleash PSImetals’ application excellence.

According to PSI Metals, the new platform ‘enables metals producers to benefit from AI/ ML concepts (artificial intelligence and machine

learning) and the expert knowledge of PSI Metals helps to employ them in an industry context’.

The company claims it will supply a complete framework on how to handle AI/ML applications ‘along the complete data life cycle; from the first touch with your data to providing online prediction results in our applications’.

For further information, log on to www.psimetals.com

The PSI bus with Managing Director Thomas Quinet

innovations - METEC REVIEW.indd 2

19/07/2019 14:12:03

18

METEC 2019

‘Be safe, be proud, make money...’

Last year, Big River Steel in Osceola, Arkansas, USA, produced 1.65Mt of steel with just 518 employees.

CEO Dave Stickler is planning to up that to 3.3Mt with only an additional 150 employees. How do you do that, Dave? By Matthew Moggridge*

“We were almost 10 times more profitable than US Steel

”

per employee.

LIKE an impromptu gig by a major rock star, I was tipped the wink that something big was going down on the SMS group stand at METEC. Although, to be fair, the word ‘stand’ or ‘booth’ did little justice to the huge space occupied by the German plant builder.

METEC, for those in the dark, is a massive exposition and convention for the global metals industry combining three other events – GIFA, ThermProcess and Newcast – under the banner ‘The Bright World of Metals’. It takes place every four years in Düsseldorf, Germany, alongside the European Steel Technology and Application Days (ESTAD) conference.

This year, the event clashed with what the media described as a ‘Saharan heat bubble’,

which was basically furnace-hot weather that lasted the duration of the event.

On reaching the SMS stand, I pushed through the crowds and spotted a familiar face. It was none other than the global steel industry’s rebel with a cause, Dave Stickler, the CEO of Big River Steel in the USA and the first recipient of an SMS group ‘learning mill’.

Back in October of 2017, Steel Times International travelled to Osceola, Arkansas, to meet Dave and his associates and talk about the new facility. Back then, as now, Big River Steel (BRS) was the talk of the town (and the world) in a big country where electric steelmaking rules the roost (accounting for 69% of all US steel production). Stickler is the electric warrior, the metal guru of EAF steelmaking, and the David (or Dave) to the integrated steel mills’ Goliath.

BRS was designed with a clean sheet of

paper to produce steels that, prior to the company’s arrival, had never been produced by a minimill. In short, BRS adopted the motto of the Starship Enterprise, ‘to boldy go where no EAF steelmaker has gone before’, and soon it will be producing fully processed, grain oriented steels and more.

10% over rated capacity Two years on and Dave was in fine fettle, thanking his friends from SMS group for the opportunity to participate in what he described as ‘another wonderful conference’. He was quick to correct a factual error on a short video presentation.

“You put 1.5Mt as your rated capacity [for the Big River Steel plant], but with SMS’ help, we’re running at 1.65Mt, so 10% over rated capacity,” he said.

Stickler started his career in investment banking and one of his first steel clients was US Steel. “We were putting in some

* Editor, Steel Times International July/August 2019

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METEC 2019

“I don’t do anything other than

19

hire good people and buy good equipment.

I train the heck out of workers and

”

then I get out of their way.

takeover defences and that’s when I first got to know the steel industry,” he said.

“The first minimill that I was involved with was the formation of Steel Dynamics when three individuals left Nucor Corporation to build their own steel mill. We teamed up with SMS, at the time just the furnace through the caster, worked with KFW, a great German bank that I’ve come to know over the last 20 years, but over that period I’ve had great success in putting greenfield mini-mill projects together around the world – the vast majority of them having SMS equipment.”

Asked to provide an overview of the last four years of Big River Steel, Stickler recalled his first day in business. “We had five employees and 1.6 billion dollars in the bank. It took us above 27 months or so to build the facility, we build these facilities ourselves and peaked out at about 2,000 construction workers,” he said, adding that he was ‘very very proud’, of the fact that, from a safety perspective, ‘our construction www.steeltimesint.com

METEC big river2.indd 2

effort was absolutely outstanding’. “Our safety [accident] incident rate was one tenth of the average in the United States,” he said.

Steel production at Big River Steel started in January 2017 with a large team of SMS technical and start-up specialists on-site.

“In that first month we set a production record in terms of tonnes of steel produced by a new CSP facility, we were over 60,000 tonnes of steel production that first month,” Stickler said.

According to Stickler, the business was EBITDA positive in its second month.

“And that’s highly unusual for a start-up company, I don’t care what sector you’re in,” he said, stating that to be EBITDA positive in your second month of trading was ‘hats off to the team we had’.

The mill was running at 81% of rated capacity in six months. “We had a highly well-trained workforce,” said Stickler, claiming that the company was the most successful steel producer in North America

in terms of EBITDA/tonne of steel shipped after its second year of operation. And what’s more, Big River Steel is the only LEED-certified steel production facility in the world.

The tie breaker “Some of you in Europe may not know what LEED certification stands for, that’s Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design, and usually that certification is for office buildings, colleges and universities, hospitals and government facilities. We were the first and only heavy industrial production facility in the world to try and become LEED-certified and now we’re the only steel producer that has that,” Stickler explained. “Why is that important? People certainly aren’t going to pay more for our steel because it was produced in a LEEDcertified facility; however, if our steel is selling for $900/tonne delivered and one of our competitor’s steel is selling for $900 delivered, everything else being equal, I’m July/August 2019

23/07/2019 10:21:08

20

METEC 2019

“I want to run every day of the week, every week of the month, every month of the year as hard as we can.” going to get the order, so it’s a tie breaker.

“I’m not a gambler, but if you go to Vegas, the house always has the tie breaker, they make a lot of money, I’ll take the tie breaker,” Stickler told his audience.”

“And I’ll tell you who’s really interested in this [LEED certification] is companies such as BMW and Mercedes. BMW is talking about making a television ad in north America where they take a 15- or 20-year-old BMW, take that car, show it on the television ad going to a shredder, all the plastics go one way, the metal goes to another pile and then the scrap metal is dropped into our furnace, goes all the way through our process into the galvanised coil and that coil gets shipped back to BMW – an old BMW turned into a new BMW. I would love nothing more than having to follow through on that television ad,” Stickler admitted.

Stickler explained how Big River Steel is able to double its capacity. “It is a great story. This is interesting: we just did this a couple weeks ago, even though we’ve been operating for over two years now, we were able to approach the capital markets and raise 487 million dollars of 30-year money with 20 years interest-only, so we don’t have to pay any interest back on that money for 20 years at a rate of 4.5% – very, very, very inexpensive capital – and that’s allowing us to double our capacity.” He explained how BRS has ordered additional equipment from SMS and is looking at another mill location in Brownsville, Texas.

Stickler is proud of Big River Steel’s profitability per employee. “Last year, which was our second year of production, we produced US$557,000 of EBITDA profit per employee. Look at our competitors – and these are good competitors – Steel Dynamics US$253,000, Nucor US$157,000, some of these other companies maybe not July/August 2019

METEC big river2.indd 3

quite so good, US$61,000; we were almost 10 times more profitable than US Steel per employee,” he said.

Big River Steel produced 1.65Mt of steel last year with 518 employees and once the new equipment is up and running, the mill will produce 3.3Mt of steel. “And I’m only going to add 150 workers, so with 668 workers we’ll be producing 3.3Mt of steel, this will be over a million dollars. That’s Silicon Valley-type profitability numbers per employee. People say, well Dave, how can you do that, and I say, I don’t do anything other than hire good people and buy good equipment. I train the heck out of workers and then I get out of their way. And these are the results that we’ve had.

Stickler is proud of the fact that each Big River Steel employee produces 3,250 tonnes of steel. “I’ll hold that number up against any steel producer in the world. I don’t know all the numbers, there are steel companies all over the world, I visit a lot of them and I’ve yet to find one that can come even close to that, and again this is 1.65Mt with 518 employees; wait until we produce 3.3Mt with 660 workers, this will be terribly close to 7000/8000 tonnes per employee.

We’re just so productive because of the technology and the automation installed at Big River.”

It’s all about profitability People often ask Stickler how he operates his business and he tells them straight: it’s all about profitability per time on the mill.

“Are we running and are we running full and are we running hard? I want to run every day of the week, every week of the month, every month of the year as hard as we can,” he said.

He admits that some people might ask him how come he’s talking about profitability per tonne shipped as if he’s

the number one player in the market, when in reality he’s number two. “But this is profitability per tonne shipped last year and that included our 13th, 14th and 15th month of operation, we were just getting our legs underneath us. Give me to the end of this year and I fully expect us to be the most profitable per tonnes shipped.”

At present, Big River Steel is selling API grade pipe. “We were just involved in a 600-mile pipeline project that ultimately is Exxon, a big energy company, already, and this is something that has really impressed me: after just over two years of operation, we’re selling direct to three automotive companies, we just passed our Mercedes audit three weeks ago, so by the end of the year, we’ll be selling direct to Mercedes.

It’s unheard of for a company this young to be selling direct. People ask, why do you think that is, Dave? Well, 100 years ago, 30 years ago, the integrated steel community produced 100% of flat-rolled steel in the world. In the US today the integrated community produces less than 40% of flat-rolled steel, in another five years it’ll probably be less than 25%, five years after that probably less than 15%, so the domestic and foreign auto guys who operate plants in the US, they know that they’ve got to diversify their sources of supply. If the truth be told, the minimills have been selling to the automotive community for a long time. When we did SDI, we were selling deep drawing quality steel to Chrysler fairly early in our life,” he said.

The rebel of the industry Stickler is getting a reputation for being ‘the rebel of the industry’ and has been filmed arriving at Big River Steel on a rebellious-looking motorcycle, I’m guessing a big Harley, at the official opening of the www.steeltimesint.com

23/07/2019 10:21:19

22

METEC 2019

“After just over two years of operation, we’re selling direct to three automotive companies” mill. But what’s it’s like partnering with the rebel? The best person to ask is SMS group’s CEO, Burkhard Dahmen.

“Being the partner of the rebel of the industry is a challenge and an opportunity,” he said. “Definitely there is a lot of pressure, but the pressure is a challenge and an opportunity. The challenge is to serve the rebel of the industry with a complete greenfield installation consisting of five different process units, which you have to pile up to combine together not only mechanical-wise, but also from the automation and digitalisation point-ofview, because Big River Steel operates the first learning steel mill in the world. We have the opportunity to develop something for the rebel of the industry who was demanding us to come forward with new developments, it’s not just delivering the state-of-the-art or something you can always have visited before at another place. No, we were requested to provide something new and this new technology is impressive for the productivity. I mean we have guaranteed 1.5Mt and they have achieved 1.65Mt. The opportunity for us was having a challenging partner and I’m saying ‘partner’ because we are in a partnership, it’s not always nice and friendly, but it’s honest and direct and that’s what’s necessary,” Dahmen said.

Stickler said that sustainability distinguishes Big River Steel and SMS group from the world’s steelmaking community.

“But the other differentiating factor is our full embrace of big data mining and machine learning. We’ve designed this mill to be the world’s first learning mill. I want to know as much about our operation as Google and Apple know about the autonomous cars that are driving around various cities in the world. Many of our competitors after 30, 60, 90 days, they discard their electronic data; we don’t throw anything away and believe me, July/August 2019

METEC big river2.indd 4

I didn’t count it, but the folks who are involved in our automation and big data mining told me that as of 31 March 2019, after just after two years of operation, we have looked at and analysed over a trillion data points. My goal is to know as much about Big River Steel operations as Rolls Royce and General Electric know about those engines that are flying around on Airbus and Boeing planes.

Wrong answer!

At Big River Steel they don’t have swear words, but swear phrases, one being ‘that’s the way we’ve always done it’ of which Dave Stickler is not a fan.

“So, for instance, early on I asked our maintenance team why are we going down every four hours, once a week, for maintenance, and the gentleman, highly experienced, probably one of the best at what he does, told me, Dave, that’s the way we’ve always done it. WRONG ANSWER! WRONG ANSWER! Let’s see what the data’s telling us. If we’re running grades in width and thicknesses that are hard around the mill then maybe we’d be better off going down every fifth day rather than once a week, but if I’m running thinner, lighter, softer material, maybe I can stretch that to every 10th day,” explained Stickler.

The other banned swear phrase is ‘random event’ and if uttered, it will lead to Stickler exclaiming ‘WRONG ANSWER!’ “A month or so ago, I asked a melt shop manager, what the heck happened, I come in to work and the furnace is down.

What happened? He said ‘random event’, WRONG ANSWER AGAIN! We don’t believe in random events, if you look at enough data you’re going to start to see predictive patterns, alright, so believe me if you come to Big River Steel and visit, and we’ve had literally hundreds of visitors in our first two years, you’ll never hear ‘that’s the way we’ve always done it’, or it’s ‘a random

event’, they’ll give you some other answer, but hopefully not those two swear words,” he said.

Big River Steel relies upon digitalisation and ArtificiaI Intelligence. The whole company is run in ‘the cloud’. Many people believe that such a policy leaves the business exposed.

“Nonsense, we’re much more secure, we’re much more in tune with security breaches and we save a heck of a lot of money. I don’t have to spend the tens of millions of dollars on the big server platforms and I don’t need a 35-person IT department to maintain the servers, so yes we embrace technology in everything we do,” Stickler countered.

Asked whether Big River Steel employees embrace the technology too, Stickler referred back to the mill’s LEED certification.

“They said no, Dave, that’s for hospitals and universities. I said I know what it has been before, but let’s try it. Then, when I said okay, we’ve designed this mill to be the first learning mill, there were a lot of people saying ‘oh yeah, yeah, I’ve heard that’, so what I did was I took one of the individuals who you would think would be the last to embrace big data, he’s been involved in the steel industry for probably 45 years, I think he’s third generation, he’s got four or five relatives working, and I think if I can get him to embrace the use of big data mining, my job is going to be so much easier because it’ll be somebody people look up to; it took me a while, but he’s now one of our biggest digitalisation champions.”

Transparency is crucial For Stickler and Dahmen, transparency is crucial, but for many steelmakers, protecting data is very important and is not shared with third parties. According to Dahmen, however, SMS group’s relationship with Big River Steel is totally different and refreshingly so. “They have www.steeltimesint.com

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23

“My goal is to know as much about Big River Steel operations as Rolls Royce and General Electric know about those engines that are flying around on Airbus and Boeing planes.” opened up their pocket, they said whatever kind of data is available, take it and use and it will definitely be to the benefit of Big River Steel. So we have a green facility where we have full access at any moment or point of time to all data and that is the basic principle that leads to better quality, lower energy consumption and higher throughputs,” he said.

Stickler is proud of the results so far.

“Burkhard’s correct, we try and operate with full transparency, unlike a lot of our competitor installations where visitors can’t talk to the employees, they’re not allowed to take pictures. I encourage all our guests to get out on the floor and talk to our employees. I don’t hide behind intellectual property protectionism or try to build up barriers. We operate more of the Tesla model where Tesla will put its drawings and engineering work on the Internet.

My attitude is people will ultimately get there and if I can play a little part in helping the world steel industry compete successfully against aluminium and titanium manufacturers as well as other materials being developed at a relatively fast pace, I will have accomplished something,” said Stickler.

Back to the future Asked to look ahead and imagine a future SMS group invitation to METEC 2023, what would Stickler have to say? “I would be presenting another highly successful rampup of our phase two expansion at Big River, which again is the second EAF through the down coiler and, most likely, although we haven’t had the order yet, an NGO [nongrain oriented steel] facility which is the electrical steels used in the high-efficiency motors of hybrid and electric vehicles,” he said.

Stickler said the plan was to produce non-grain oriented steels fully processed down to 0.10mm thickness and 1,650mm www.steeltimesint.com

METEC big river2.indd 5

wide. “So that’s the widest and certainly the thinnest in the world,” he said.

“People say, ‘Dave, you don’t need to go that thin for your NGO steels’ and they’re right. Today I don’t’, but guess what? In two, three, four years from now I want to, so if I can produce those steels that thin it will allow the laminations that go in to the motor building process to be that much lighter and that much more efficient. So it’s likely we’ll be talking about another flatrolled steel production facility that we’ve either just started up or about to start up in Brownsville, Texas. Somebody write that down and see how accurate I was.”

The world’s first smart mill?

When the Big River Steel project started, Stickler said he made the mistake of saying he was designing the world’s first smart mill. “But somebody much smarter than me said that’s not true and I said what do you mean? They said your vision was to continue to collect data, continue to improve and continue to mine that data.

So on a spectrum between one and 10, with 10 being completely finished with big data mining and AI, we’re probably on square one or two, but we’ll be continually learning and my goal is to continue to operate safely and continue to operate highly profitably per time on the mill. I think that the tools we’re building will allow us to continue to enhance our profitability.

He highlighted Big River Steel’s low power costs, claiming that, ‘fully loaded’ it’s 34 dollars per megawatt on an 11-year contract. “First of all we use less energy than anyone who produces steel, certainly in North America. We believe our power rate is the cheapest. I have the ability – if I can determine and predict how much energy I’ll use in my furnace to melt the scrap – to sell any excess power I have. So literally every minute of the day, every hour of the day, every day of the week, not only

are we using large amounts of power, but we’re selling power back to the grid. Right now we’re operating with a 10% buffer because the last thing I want to do is tell my meltshop guy he hasn’t got enough power because I sold it. He wouldn’t be happy, so we’re operating at a 10% buffer. Next year my goal is to operate with a 5% buffer and ultimately with a 2.5% buffer. The only way I can do that is to look and become absolutely certain based on the analytical data we analysed on where we are.”

When a journalist asked Stickler how outsourcing plant maintenance was going, he said it wasn’t true. “It’s not correct to say we’ve farmed out all of our maintenance. I’d say it’s more of a co-operative arrangement, in some cases with SMS; they have a maintenance shop approximately a mile and a half down the road where they do our caster repair and our roll shop,” he said, explaining how some day-to-day repairs are handled inhouse.

We did have a death When Patrick from Nigeria asked about safety, Stickler commented, “We did have a death,” and then told the sad tale of an owl that had somehow found its way into the transformer station. “The owl was killed, right, so that was an unplanned event,” he said. “We were down for 13 hours. I don’t know how an owl got into the transformer station, but it did. It was a random event, but I said nothing.

“When we first started up we had issues with our scales, they weren’t completely accurate, so we’d be shipping a coil of steel that was 20 tonnes to our customer, but it turned out to be 19.9 tonnes, but these are normal teething issues. Every day we focus on safety and profitability. Our company motto is very simple: be safe, be proud, make money, and so far we’ve been able to achieve those three things. � July/August 2019

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24

AISTECH 2019

Weapons-grade positivity These are good times for North American steelmakers, writes Matthew Moggridge*

Carolyn Hansson, 2019

James F Dudek, AIST

Howe Memorial Lecturer

president 2018-2019

Carol Jackson, CEO,

Conrad Winkler, CEO

Harbison Walker

Evraz North America

IN her paper entitled What Have We Learnt (about corrosion of stainless steel) Since 1934?, Carolyn M Hansson of the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, examined the alloying of steel and the importance of corrosion resistance to modern day life.

“It is difficult to imagine today’s society without stainless steels,” said Hansson, explaining how they have become ubiquitous in our daily lives.

In the early part of the 20th Century, the main non-military use of stainless steel was for cutlery, on which the British provincial city of Sheffield made its name, but it was also used to make tanks containing acids and to cope with atmospheric corrosion resistance in buildings and transportation.

The fact that stainless steel has a huge range of applications, claims Hansson, is because of the wide selection of grades available.

It is estimated that current annual use of stainless steel rebar, a rapidly growing area of growth, is of the order of 50kt, which is around 3% of total annual stainless steel production. The Champlain Bridge across the St. Lawrence River in Montreal, Canada, contains 17kt of UNS S32304 (AISI 2304) and while that might seem a lot, it’s

virtually nothing when you consider that the global output of carbon steel rebar is over 200Mt/yr.

Hansson was AISTech’s 2019 Howe Memorial Lecturer and she concluded her paper by saying that stainless steels do not corrode and their resistance ‘depends on their specific composition, heat treatment and mechanical treatment’. She argued that the range of applications for stainless steel appear to have no limits, and highlighted the recent endorsement of rocket man Elon Musk who announced he was replacing the carbon fibre wrap on his Starship Rocket with AISI 301 stainless steel.

A big change of fortunes AISTech 2019 was jam-packed with weapons-grade positivity, a state of mind alien to anybody outside of the US steel industry at present. It wasn’t that long ago when the Americans – and, indeed, the rest of the world – were worried about overcapacity in China. Plants closed, capacity utilisation was down and jobs were lost, but then along came Trump and Section 232 and now everybody’s smiling. But it would be wrong to assume that 232 is the saviour of the American

James F Dudek (left) with US Steel CEO David B Burritt

steel industry. As Philip K Bell of the Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA) pointed out, ‘a lot of people forget tax reform, regulatory certainty, a positive outlook in the US economy as well as manufacturing optimism’.

The American steel industry is riding high and it was good to witness first hand in the sunshine of Pittsburgh in early May. When James F Dudek, AIST president, addressed those in attendance at the annual President’s Award Breakfast, he was proud to announce to the 1,300 attendees tucking in to their fried egg and bacon that AISTech 2019 had 7,800 registered visitors and 548 exhibitors, that there would be 498 presentations and that 72% of authors were from outside of the USA. “It’s been a great year for steel,” said Dudek. He spoke of capacity utilisation tipping 80%, demand of 112 million short tons, mills reinvesting capital, idled mills resurrected, several new greenfield plants, and signs that the elusive level playing field was within reach. This was the golden era of growth, Dudek proclaimed, talking about the rapid adoption of digital technology, which had ‘unlocked previously hidden secrets’.

* Editor, Steel Times International July/August 2019

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www.steeltimesint.com

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AISTECH 2019

25

One of AISTech 2019’s bustling exhibition halls

James F Dudek with Barbara Smith, president and CEO of

Johnny Jacobs of Nucor

Barry Schneider of Steel

Scott Buckiso of United

Commercial Metals Company

Steel Kankakee Inc

Dynamics Inc.

States Steel Corporation

Looking ahead was the theme of David B Burritt’s keynote presentation entitled Steelmaking for the Next Generation.

“Steel is the material of choice for many applications, but we can’t rest on our laurels,” said Burritt, president and CEO of United States Steel Corporation.

Burritt said that the US domestic steel industry was recovering from the unfair trading of the past and that Donald Trump ‘understands steel’s strategic role’.

“We will continue to advocate for free and fair trade,” he said, adding that innovation and continuous improvement are key.

‘Zero injuries will be the norm’ Burritt claimed that leadership in safety was US Steel Corporation’s proudest achievement. “We learned from the past.

Zero injuries will be the norm in the future,” he said, arguing that safety was all about people.

For Burritt these are exciting times for the US steel industry. “Steel remains the dominant material in cars because we give customers what they need: added value solutions’.

US Steel Corporation, he said, was the first in the USA to develop endless casting and rolling at the Mon Valley Works’ Edgar Thompson facility on the outskirts of www.steeltimesint.com

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Pittsburgh.

‘Dreaming big, pushing hard and doing good things’ is how Burritt is living out his professional life at the moment and it seems to be what most US steelmakers are all about right now. Later, at a press conference, Burritt and, indeed, all those answering questions from the media, maintained a positive outlook. Burritt said that the current optimism and success running through the veins of US steelmakers would continue for the foreseeable future. He said that they hadn’t quite attained the dizzy heights of a level playing field with the rest of the world, but there were ‘encouraging signs’. He reiterated the vital and strategic importance of steel to national and economic security.

“If you don’t have steel, you don’t have a country because you can’t make things,” he said. “It’s not just to protect yourself from enemies, but to have a supply chain that works so you can create this strong, enduring future,” he continued, adding that there was still a long way to go; after 30 years of trade wars there was a lot of damage to undo.

And was the US industry’s success all down to Donald Trump? Not according to Burritt. “Before he was elected there was strong recognition of the illegal trade that was going on: tariffs, countervailing

duties, there was always things going in that direction,” he said. “We know even our best allies don’t do a good job with their borders so things come through Canada, things come through Mexico and we know the South Korean story related to our pipe business. They have no domestic market, but we have something like 40% of the share in the US, so clearly it is something that has to continue for the foreseeable future and we think that on the other side of the table from the current administration, there is very strong support so it’s really bi-partisan support that we see moving forward because it’s the right thing to do for national security and economic security.”

But as the SMA’s president Philip K Bell has already pointed out, there’s more to the US steel industry’s success than Section 232. “Many SMA members contemplated or started their projects way before the 232 proclamation took place and certainly the 232 is going to help and I hope it stays in place long enough to level the playing field and makes sure these projects get up and running and meeting customer needs,” he said.

Success with or without trade relief Barbara Smith, chairman, president and CEO of Commercial Metals Company (CMC) July/August 2019

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AISTECH 2019

AISTECH 2020

Above and left: Barbara Smith, David B Burritt and James F Dudek answering some difficult questions

Next year’s event, AISTech 2020, will take place at the Huntingdon Convention Centre in Cleveland, Ohio.

More than 8,000 people are expected to attend along with over 500 exhibitors. If you visit the AIST website, you’ll notice that the organiser is already calling for papers and presentations.

from the press after the President’s Award Breakfast

Further information, log on to www.aist.org

– and the AIST 2019 Steelmaker of the Year – was equally positive for US steelmaking.

“At Commercial Metals Company we know that trade relief comes and goes and our philosophy is that we have to be successful under any economic scenario, with or without trade relief, and this conference is all about the implementation of technology, the use of technology, to advance the industry, to advance our companies, keep us low-cost and efficient, and I think of all those things combined and what you’ve heard from the panellists, give us all great optimism,” she said.

The scene was set for an exciting Town Hall Forum, the pinnacle of AISTech events.

This year’s panellists looked promising: Scott Bukiso, senior vice president, automotive solutions, United States Steel Corporation; Johnny Jacobs, vice president and general manager, Nucor Steel Kankakee Inc; Barry Schneider, senior vice president, Flat Roll Steel Group, Steel Dynamics Inc; Carol Jackson, chairman and chief executive officer, HarbisonWalker International; and Conrad Winkler, president and chief executive officer, EVRAZ North America.

As always, Jon Delano, money and politics editor of KDKA, a CBS affiliate, was moderating and, as usual, there was a full house. He asked all panellists to give him just one word that described 2018 for their businesses. Scott Bukiso said ‘change’, Johnny Jacobs went with ‘record-breaking’, Carol Jackson chose ‘intense’ and Barry Schneider said ‘fabulous’. Conrad Winkler July/August 2019

Conf report AISTECH.indd 3

went for ‘brutal’. It was the start of what can only be described as a very positive and upbeat Town Hall.

Burkiso said that 2017 and 2018 had allowed for change both technologically and otherwise. Jacobs reported record earnings and shipments, claiming that Nucor’s customers also had a good year, with employment growing by 300,000 jobs. He added and claimed that trade action had been meaningful and muchneeded. “When we succeed, everybody succeeds,” he said, claiming that Section 232 needed to be done, but asked ‘will the administration blink?’ He spoke of new technology being installed for more sustainable steelmaking and claimed that the industry was far sexier than it had been, but that fair trade was still much needed.

Harbison Walker’s Carol Jackson said the company’s team defined the term ‘intensity’ and that the business had gone through a rebirth, thanks in part to a dramatically improved regulatory environment. “It’s all about jobs and fair global trade,” said Walker. “The administration is listening.”

Steel Dynamics’ Schneider talked of a ‘very strategic plan’ while EVRAZ North America’s Conrad Winkler discussed ‘some tremendous operational successes’ and ‘terrific things with our customers,’ although he added that it had been a mixed year for the business “We’re done playing defence,” said a gung-ho Scott Burkiso. He spoke of US Steel Corporation’s billion dollar investment

in non-stop casting and rolling and a new electric arc furnace at the company’s Fairfield facility. Nucor’s Johnny Jacobs spoke of six capital investment projects planned for 2019 including a 1.2Mt plate mill in Kentucky.

“What’s good for steel is good for refractory,” said Harbison Walker’s Carol Jackson. “What’s good for you guys, is good for us,” she added, saying that Section 232 had been helpful. “We saw opportunities to accelerate things,” she said.

Steel Dynamics’ Schneider talked of a ‘kind, responsive market’ and said that SDI’s regional set-up meant it could be close to its customers, which was very important. He said that the company invests where there is demand and didn’t rely entirely upon the introduction of Section 232 tariffs. Tax reform was also a contributory factor.

As investments go, EVRAZ North America’s $480 million rail mill in Colorado is something worth boasting about. Conrad Winkler told attendees that the 600kt/yr facility is the first solar-powered mill and it is capable of producing 100-metre long rail sections.

Market specifics The conversation moved on to specific markets. Nucor’s Jacobs said that nonresidential construction had always been important for the company. He moved through other markets, such as energy, stating that Nucor’s investment in a sheet mill in Kentucky was part of a deliberate www.steeltimesint.com

19/07/2019 15:29:06

AISTECH 2019

strategy to better supply that sector. Where automotive was concerned he said it was ‘an emotional area’, but will remain a positive sector. According to Jacobs, advanced high strength steels (AHSS) were beneficial in terms of safety and, where the environment was concerned, he argued that steel was far superior to aluminium.

US Steel’s Burkiso said that the nonresidential construction market was ‘positive for us’ while SDI’s Schneider said the company had invested in pre-paint steel producers and had acquired a company in this area. He argued that steel was the only 100% recyclable material and said that oil company tubular goods (OCTG) was a valuable part of the business.

Infrastructure Infrastructure was a hot potato, with Nucor’s Jacobs calling for a legal framework for infrastructure policy-making and the way things get done. An estimated $2 trillion spending bill is regarded by Republicans as too expensive and, therefore, unlikely and US Steel’s Burkiso is not optimistic. “There’s a lot of rhetoric out there,” he commented.

Carol Jackson shared Burkiso’s lack of

optimism. “Try to put politics aside and take a lesson from business. Work out a strategic plan. No media, no tweets, deal with the issues,” she said.

The subject of digitalisation and why pursue a career in the steel industry received some predictable responses. US Steel’s Burkiso said that ‘great people coming up have lots of opportunities, thanks to the USA’s strong economy. “We want skilled and talented people, we’re investing in employees and bringing in the best and brightest,” he said, explaining how the company was working with universities.

Burkiso said that US Steel was aggressive with its diversity and inclusion policy.

Carol Jackson said that HarbisonWalker was investing in technology – sensors and 3D imaging. She spoke of data-driven decision making and said there were opportunities for those ‘who want to be involved with us. It’s very exciting, not just for the recently graduated. We’re hiring,” she said.

Nucor’s Johnny Jacobs said it was a wonderful time for young engineers to join Nucor as innovation was part of the company’s DNA.

27

Workforce issues Another Town Hall favourite – that of the ageing workforce – also brought some predictable remarks, such as Nucor’s Jacobs stating that the workforce was a critical topic and Carol Jackson saying that people were the most important asset. She talked about Harbison Walker’s ‘people strategy’ and the need to retain talent and said that the company pays fairly and engages with its employees.

There were STEM investments, but also a need for welders and mechanics. Half of the company’s team are women and there was plenty of diversity of thought and experiences. “Do your best, find your passion, that’s what puts you on the stage, not gender,” she said.

There was a brief and slightly surreal foray into the notion that wood might replace steel as a material of choice, but it was dismissed – and rightly so – by EVRAZ North America’s Winkler as nonsense.

By noon it was all over for another year and delegates filed out of the Spirit of Pittsburgh Ballroom clasping the blue plastic mugs and thermal cups being given away outside. �

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29

OXYGEN STEELMAKING

Steel Arising The steel industry in the UK is clearly facing perilous times: British Steel is in administration and Tata Steel Europe has put all of its UK plants up for sale. The conditions in the UK come as no surprise.

By Julian Allwood*

GLOBALLY, we have excess capacity and the Indian government is expanding its own steel industry at a rate that is soon likely to add a further 10% to global supplies. Yet even if demand continues to grow at recent levels, we will not need any more blast furnaces.

Steel is the most recycled material on the planet, because it is magnetic. On average steel goods last for 35-40 years, so we can say with confidence that scrap arisings will match the level of production 35-40 years previously. Today, around a third of the world’s steel output is made by electric arc furnaces and it is predicted that this number will triple over the next 30 years.

This growth will be sufficient to meet all anticipated global demand, even assuming it keeps growing as it has in the past.

However, with pressure to act on climate change rightly growing, we will almost certainly have to reduce the number of blast furnaces operating to meet emissions targets. Carbon Capture and Storage or Utilisation and hydrogen steel making are great research projects, but they will not make a significant impact on global steel production over the timescale IN which we must act on climate change.

In this context, it’s hardly surprising that the UK’s blast furnace operators are struggling. But is closure the only future?

Certainly not, and in our report “Steel Arising” we’ve set out an agenda for a very positive future for steel in the UK. As a mature steel economy, the UK generates nearly as much steel scrap each year as it purchases in final goods. For now, the scrap is exported at low value while we import most high-value final goods containing steel, but it’s a strategic resource

and we could instead exploit it ourselves.

The UK has done well in decarbonising its national electricity grid, and with plans for significant future expansion in renewable generation, the UK could soon be producing steel with the lowest emissions of any global producer.

But isn’t recycled steel of lower quality than that made in blast furnaces? Not according to the most demanding aerospace customers who buy recycled steel from Liberty Speciality Steels in Rotherham.

And not according to the US construction industry, which is mainly supplied by the 60% of US steel capacity which recycles scrap in electric arc furnaces. It’s well known that copper contamination in steel recycling can cause hot-shortening, as a result of which the largest global use of recycled steel is currently the production of reinforcing bars for construction.

However, there are a wealth of technologies already available for controlling copper contamination and plenty of space for highvalue innovations to do so more rapidly and to a greater extent in future.

Wouldn’t a switch to recycling lead to job losses? Producing liquid steel from scrap requires less labour than making it from iron ore, although there is no change in the labour required after the liquid metal has been poured. However, our analysis of the way we use steel today shows how many opportunities there are for innovation to add more value to less steel elsewhere in the supply chain. The world’s carmakers discard half of all the sheet steel they purchase: they buy coils of constant width steel but make formed body parts with curved edges. In the UK, steel-framed buildings typically contain double the mass

of steel needed to meet the Eurocode safety standards. Steel is cheap, while labour in the UK is expensive, so if we can save a little labour by using a lot more steel, we generally do so.

Countering these wasteful practices creates great space for innovation and could even be the basis of a UK industrial renaissance. The first industrial revolution substituted high-emitting energy for labour. In a new transformation, we could re-substitute labour, creativity, skills, technologies and imagination for materials, and create more efficient and more valued buildings and goods as a result.

And who’s going to pay for the change?

It’s unlikely that any private sector company could bear the full transition costs of converting blast furnaces to electric arc furnaces, but not doing so will lead to a much greater national cost in lost tax revenue, increased welfare payments, greater inequality and lost opportunities for future innovation as the industry disappears altogether. The steel industry has always been intimate with its national government, and with the right strategy now, the UK government could support the creation of a beacon of sustainable high-value steel making, ready for the low-carbon world we have to establish in so few years.

We’ll never again need as many blast furnaces as we have today, recycling will treble in the next 30 years and is the only technology-ready option we have for steel in a zero-emissions world. Which direction looks more promising?

“Steel Arising” was published in May 2019 and can be downloaded from www.uselessgroup.org. �

* Professor of Engineering and the Environment, University of Cambridge www.steeltimesint.com

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30

STEEL PROCESSING

Advanced high strength steels

While Advanced High Strength Steel (AHSS) has been indispensable to the automotive industry since its first introduction in the late 1990s, adoption is accelerating rapidly as corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) deadlines loom large. Under current US law, passenger cars are required to reach 54.5 mpg by 2026, up from a record average of 24.7 mpg across new US cars and trucks in 2016. While the executive office presses forward with a looser alternative to CAFE, the Safer Affordable Fuel Efficient (SAFE) standards, automakers feel compelled to protect themselves by moving forward with CAFE regulations by re-engineering cars to be lighter and less polluting, a mandate that, by and large, calls for the continued adoption of AHSS. By Tony Munno* WHAT is Advanced High Strength Steel (AHSS)?

When it comes to manufacturing and processing steel, there are two key properties to AHSS that make it well suited to meet CAFE standards: its ductility, or formability under tensile stress, and yield strength, an important safety feature

in crash tests. AHSS steels with tensile strength exceeding 780 MegaPascals (MPa) are called “ultra high-strength steels” (UHSS) and above 1000MPa are called “GigaPascal steel” (GPa) where 1000 MPa = 1GPa. Most importantly, AHSS maintains both high ductility and yield strength with low

weight, giving vehicles the combination of weight reduction and performance needed to meet CAFE standards. The ultimate goal is to make a vehicle that is lighter, with thinner material and better gas mileage, while also maintaining crash resistance that won’t jeopardise the passenger. AHSS gives auto makers the ability to hit targets

*Director of Automotive Business Development, Kloeckner Metals July/August 2019

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STEEL PROCESSING

in stringent safety regulations, emissions reduction, and performance, all at an affordable cost.

History The introduction of new variations of steel coincides completely with the first introduction of CAFE standards in 1975, after the 1973-74 Arab oil embargo, to improve the average fuel economy of cars and light trucks in the United States. Set by the Secretary of Transportation, they rose quickly after their first introduction, stayed relatively flat through the 90s, and started a steady, then fast, ascent in the 00s and 10s.

As automakers were challenged to improve safety and fuel economy, they searched for new materials to meet higher standards. Much of the momentum in AHSS started in 1994, when a consortium of 35 sheet steel producers founded the UltraLight Steel Auto Body (ULSAB) programme with the mission of designing a lightweight steel auto body structure that would meet increasing safety and performance targets. They presented the result in 1998 with a body-in-white (BIW) that validated key concepts of lightweight, higher strength steel. By 2000, ULSAB proceeded with a new generation of AHSS, incorporating hot-formed and dual phase steels into new BIW structures. www.steeltimesint.com

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The 2000s showed a steady ascent in the adoption of AHSS. By 2007, the average vehicle boasted 11.6% mediumand high-strength steels, or about 20% of the total steel vehicle content. As can be expected, AHSS use grew alongside the development of equipment and processes that could manufacture and process the material across the supply chain. DP and transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) steels were hailed for their high energy absorption and excellence in crash zone tests. Additionally, structural elements

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benefited from extremely high-strength martensitic and boron-based steels that increased strength and safety.

In 2011, the use of AHSS was substantiated by data from WorldAutoSteel’s FutureSteelVehicle (FSV) programme. Compared to a benchmark vehicle, a vehicle using 97% HSS and AHSS demonstrated a 35% reduction in mass and a 56% drop in total life emission reductions. The HSS and AHSS vehicle met or exceeded all present safety and structural standards. By 2011, AHSS had become a norm in the auto industry.

While the growth of AHSS has been slow and steady, the long production runs of vehicles has complicated adoption.

Most vehicles have 8-10 year production runs after they’ve been engineered.

The Department of Transportation has periodically responded by extending deadlines. Regardless, the easiest way to meet requirements has been weight reduction. Some companies, like Ford in their F150 Ford pickup truck, went 100% aluminum despite the tripled cost over AHSS. Others engineered their steel to be lighter while maintaining strength; and still others, like Honda and BMW, went the AHSS route or combined all of the above.

Current Trends With more attention than ever on emission standards, the use of AHSS is expected to grow to 450 pounds in North Americanproduced light vehicles in 2025 from 279 pounds in 2015. Domestic OEMs in the USA like Ford, FCA and General Motors, have all increased their utilisation of AHSS in their vehicles from 2013 to 2018, while BMW

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and Honda have become the AHSS/UHSS leaders for both non-domestic and overall OEMs. As examples, the 2019 Silverado included higher strength steels for the frame and BIW, increasing its share of AHSS and UHSS by about 5%, and the redesigned Honda Civic added applications for UHSS that account for about 26% of the BIW. The steel industry has made monumental strides, most recently in developing new advanced grades of steel and making them commercially available. The continued preference and use of steel within the typical BIW structures has limited the growth of alternative materials. The 2019 North American light vehicle is estimated to have an average of 1480 pounds of flat rolled steel compared to 1615 pounds in 2013, correlating precisely to the overall reduction in average vehicle curb weight.

Comparing the 2018 average light vehicle composition of flat rolled steel to the 2013 average, we find that ferrous materials make up nearly 62% of the materials mix versus 54%. While aluminium does take some share away from the iron content, AHSS has replaced more mild and, in some places, HSS, in places where geometry and formability can be improved. Nowadays, 3rd generation AHSS is replacing both HSS and HSLA applications, representing a 90 pound increase, or 38% growth, from 2013 to 2018. The net increase of AHSS/UHSS has averaged about 20 pounds per year.

Vehicle launch dates in 2019 translate to further AHSS/UHSS growth this year and beyond. Between tougher global standards and the State of California’s drive to set its own standards, it’s likely that automakers will ramp up vehicle electrification plans regardless of the battle between CAFE and

compelled to operate in compliance with the strictest regulations. AHSS and UHSS are here to stay over competing materials.

the US will join Europe and Asia in setting standards that will more or less globally unify emission and performance demands.

Future trends Regardless of the regulation upheaval, automakers should expect that standards will accelerate. At the same time, we’ll likely see average mpg accelerate as older, less efficient vehicles leave the production line and are replaced by newer, more efficient vehicles with high AHSS adoption.

Steel will likely remain the primary share of automotive materials into 2020 and advanced grades of steel will prevent adoption of competitive materials.

The 2015 AHSS use in North Americaproduced light vehicles is expected to grow significantly to 570 pounds by 2025.

Aluminium will also continue to gain share of curb weight, increasing by about 20 pounds per vehicle by 2020.

Adoption rates and estimates vary by OEM but, beyond 2020, we expect AHSS pounds per vehicle to decline as UHSS grows. UHSS has grown since 2013, weighing in at 351 pounds in 2019 and 483 pounds in 2025. We predict a net increase of AHSS/USS of about 175 pounds per vehicle by 2025, an average growth of 30 pounds per year. Between now and 2025, adoption of UHSS will accelerate, driven by rapidly rising global vehicle standards, EPA goals, and the sheer number of new vehicle launches. We predict that

US capabilities Still, American manufacturers and suppliers trail their European and Asian counterparts in their capacity to produce and process AHSS and UHSS. The average domestic mill, manufacturer, stamper, and OEM all needed to make investments across the entire supply chain to incorporate AHSS, and investment has lagged. Kloeckner Metals is one of the few exceptions in manufacturing with equipment specifically built for AHSS with full-range capabilities in its steel service centres in Calvert, Alabama and Greenville, South Carolina.

The future of AHSS and UHSS for automotive applications is bright in the United States. Many groups continue to research AHSS and UHSS to better understand their properties and to continue tailoring unique sets of characteristics to creatively meet customer demand and regulatory standards. In the past decade, the American steel and automotive industries have forged numerous partnerships to develop the materials and technologies that are needed to put the next generation of safer and more environmentally friendly vehicles on the road. We will continue to see a great deal of innovation in AHSS and UHSS in the coming years. �

SAFE regulations. While many automakers have been outspoken about a compromise between CAFE and SAFE, these outside factors combined with long production timelines mean that most automakers feel July/August 2019

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SMU Steel Summit 2019 SMU STEEL SUMMIT C O N F E R E N C E

August 26-28, 2019, Atlanta, Georgia, USA Georgia International Convention Center

Meet the Speakers: Ari Fleischer Former White House Press Secretary, fleischercommunications.com

Thomas Gibson President & CEO, American Iron and Steel Institute

Dr. Alan Beaulieu President & Principal, ITR Economics

César Jiménez CEO, Ternium Mexico

Mark Millett President & CEO, Steel Dynamics Inc

Also Speaking: • John G.Hritz, President & CEO, JSW Steel, USA • Chris Kuehl, Managing Director, Armada Corporate Intelligence • Edward J. Lehner, President & CEO, Ryerson • Kurt Russell, President & COO, Precoat Metals, Inc. • John G. Reid, Director, President & CEO, Russel Metals • Ladd Hall, Executive Vice President, Nucor • John Packard, President & CEO, Steel Market Update • Philip K. Bell, President, Steel Manufacturers Association • Donald Bly, Partner, Applied Value • James Burg, President, James Burg Trucking Company • Chris Houlden, Research Manager, CRU

Register today at: www.SteelMarketUpdate.com/Events/Steel-Summit 299 9897 | Events@SteelMarketUpdate.com

For more information, contact: (770)

• Ira J. Kreft, Senior Vice President, Bank of America Merrill Lynch • Lewis E. Leibowitz, The Law Office of Lewis E. Leibowitz • Paul Lowrey, Managing Partner, Steel Research Associates • Lynn Lupori, Head of Metals Consulting - North America, CRU • Alan H. Price, Partner, Wiley Rein, LLP • Jim Schaaf, Group VP - Metals & Construction, Norfolk Southern • Ryan Smith, Steel Analyst, CRU • Josh Spoores, Principal Consultant, CRU • Timna Tanners, Research Analyst Metals and Mining, Bank of America - Merrill Lynch Research • Jim Tumulty, Principal & CEO, Calibre Group, LLC

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Do you want to learn more? www.endress.com/primaries-metal

LUBRICATION

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Spoilt for choice?

The industrial lubricants sector is wide and varied and offers many different products for a number of applications. It’s an industry populated by many different companies all of whom claim to offer the best product for the job. This article looks at what four leading suppliers are offering steelmakers A major supplier of industrial lubricants to the steel industry is Condat, based in France. The company claims to be a market leader for more than 25 years in the field of fire-resistant fluids formulated from organic ester bases. The company continues to develop and adapt its lubricants to meet with current market expectations with a view to offering its customers ‘superior protection’ from fire risks.

Condat’s business, claims Franck Dufresne, the company’s steel industry business developer, is focused strongly on steel mills and hot rolling lines. “We supply fire-resistant fluids and heavy load greases that answer the constraints and demands of major actors in the field,” he said.

Condat is busy globally, but the greatest growth at present is in the Middle East, according to Dufresne.

Condat supplies all the major steelmakers, including ArcelorMittal, POSCO, Tata Steel and the Riva Group.

According to the company, its Condat D fluids have the latest Factory Mutual Global approval tests and have been certified as ‘approved fire resistant fluids’.

More specifically, Condat D46 and D68 hydraulic fluids have been widely used for many years in all industries, including the steel industry, where employee and equipment protection against fire is essential.

Condat claims that its D fluids prevent fire propogation and are self-extinguishing.

They ‘significantly reduce the risks presented by the use of a mineral oil in www.steeltimesint.com

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hydraulic installations, for example, when a pipe breaks or when oil is sprayed out due to leaks near a flame.

The company claims that its D fluids offer high oxidation resistance, anti-wear properties and a high viscosity index.

They are biodegradable and non-toxic and classified as WGK1 in relation to the latest standards issued by the French Hygiene Institute. “They allow users to limit their pollutant rejects and to adopt an environmentally friendly policy,” the company said.

Condat offers a range of products for steelmakers including HFC and HFA Fire Hydraulic fluids, continuous casting and hot rolling greases and coupling and spindling greases.

The steel industry provides the most demanding environment for industrial lubricants as it combines high temperatures, fire risk, the presence of water and or contaminants. With this in mind, steel manufacturers are always looking for ever more efficient greases in order to increase the longevity of their equipment while simplifying their maintenance operations – and this, claims Condat, is where its Millennium 505 product comes into play.

Millennium 505, claims Condat, makes it possible to ensure lubrication under very severe constraints (high temperatures, loads, water and so on). “This last generation chemistry grease consists of calcium sulfonates with a colloidal structure. It provides special properties and reaches a high level of performance without

using a high percentage of additives. This grease chemistry allows effective, multipurpose and long-lasting lubrication and, thanks to its lubricant film, is still efficient at high temperatures,” explained Condat.

Millennium 505 is said to offer excellent behaviour over a wide range of temperatures – crucial in the steel industry – as well as resistance to heavy loads, outstanding anti-wear properties, strong adhesion, ‘excellent’ stability in the presence of water or emulsion and ‘excellent’ anticorrosion properties too.

Condat’s Millennium 505 is a high temperature grease that is claimed to be ideally suited to continuous casting, cold rolling and hot rolling mills. It is used for the lubrication of plain bearings, rolling bearings, chocks and axles and offers mechanical stability under severe rolling as well as the ability to work with water presence of up to 40%, ensuring an effective lubrication, according to Condat. It is also highly shock and vibration resistant, thus avoiding breakages.

Condat claims that its 505 product is compatible with other more conventional greases and meets the demands of the heavy end of the steel manufacturing processes, simplifying and reducing the costs of maintenance operations.

Specialised lubricants for steel mills According to ExxonMobil, productivity demands on metal manufacturing have never been greater. The company claims that steel mills require specialised lubricants July/August 2019

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that are capable of performing in harsh environments including high temperatures, wet conditions and where heavy loads are commonplace. For these scenarios, a variety of different products are available, some of them OEM-approved because they have years of proven performance. There are also advanced problem-solving synthetic oils and greases.

The Mobil SHC 600 series, for example, is claimed to reduce energy consumption by up to 3.6% and, claims ExxonMobil, has delivered premium performance and maximised production uptime in industrial gearboxes working in extreme temperatures and under heavy loads. SHC 600 is claimed to extend oil life by up to six times when compared with conventional products on the market while offering similar seal and metals compatibility with conventional oils. The company says that SHC 600 can operate across a wide range of industrial applications.

ExxonMobil’s Vacuoline 500 range is claimed to be a versatile lubricant source for a wide range of industrial equipment while its Vacuoline 100 series is primarily intended for the lubrication of plain bearings in systems designed for full fluid lubrication, particularly those subjected to heavy water contamination, such as those that may be used for back-up roll bearings in metal rolling mills.

Steel mills, claims ExxonMobil, would be well-advised to consider the company’s Centaur XHP 460 series of multi-purpose greases, which are designed to provide rust protection in water-saturated environments as they provide extreme-pressure protection for equipment with high/shock loads, high temperature oil bleed control and high water wash-out resistance and water absorption. They are ‘particularly wellsuited’ for application in steel mills.

ExxonMobil invites potential customers

to ‘talk to an expert’. Simply visit the company’s website for more details, although you will have to navigate your way towards the ‘solutions by industry’ section and seek out ‘steel’.

ExxonMobil also offers its Mobil Serv Services whereby specialist engineers work alongside steelmakers offering insight and advice on product selection. Where lubricants are concerned, Mobil Serv Lubricant Analysis offers the full spectrum of analysis on Mobil-branded lubricants, which no other programme can provide, the company claims.

Total solutions Similarly, rival Total offers a range of different oils for specific applications within the metals industries. The company claims that its products are formulated to maximise efficiency and provide optimum performance in extreme conditions. Total’s website offers a ‘contact an expert’ button for those seeking specific advice and guidance.

Total offers the Spirit, Vulsol, Valona, Scilia, Martol, Lubrilam, Osyris, Drasta and Lactuca brands and goes into great detail on its website to highlight the suitability of each product for specific areas of metallurgy and metalworking.

A broad portfolio of products In the USA, Quaker Chemicals claims to offer a broad portfolio of products and services and says it is the global leader in steel rolling lubrication. In fluid power, the company’s QUINTOLUBRIC range of fire-resistant, biodegradable hydraulic fluids are claimed to be the standard for primary metals plants.

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“In steel plants, the hot strip mill encounters some of the most severe conditions as far as lubrication is concerned,” says Quaker, explaining how its Quakertek CS (calcium sulfonate complex grease) and its QUINTOLUBRIC 702-46 RD water glycol-based fire-resistant hydraulic are key products that help to alleviate problems encountered within the steel mill.

Quaker recently exhibited at AISTech 2019 in Pittsburgh, USA, a major conference and exposition for the global steel industry and METEC in Germany.

The company’s Quakertek product is claimed to resist water wash-out, offer extreme load carrying properties and ‘lubricity’ and excellent corrosion protection. “Under normal dry conditions, standard greases can perform well; however, performance deteriorates quickly with water ingress leading to high grease consumption, bearing failures, and increased workload,” Quaker said.

The QUINTOLUBRIC range of products comprises the 888 series, which is designed to replace anti-wear, mineral oil-based hydraulic fluids used in applications where fire hazards exist. They can also be used in environmentally sensitive hydraulic applications without compromising the overall hydraulic system operation, claims Quaker.

The 807 series of high water content fire resistant hydraulic fluids are designed for use in water hydraulic systems with reciprocating piston pumps. Quaker claims it provides ‘effective protection against rust and micro-organism growth, has a strong affinity for metal and provides effective boundary lubrication between sliding steel surfaces.

Finally, Quaker’s QUINTOLUBRIC 702-46 RD water glycol, fire-resistant hydraulic fluids are claimed to provide optimum performance in hydraulic systems where fire-resistant fluids are required. “It contains enough water to prevent ignition that could occur in hydraulic systems operating under high pressure through sudden line ruptures or fluid contact with a high-temperature source,” Quaker explained. � For further information on the companies mentioned in this article, log on to the follow websites:www.condat-lubricants.com www.mobil.com/en/industrial www.totalspecialities.com www.quakerchem.com www.steeltimesint.com

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FLUIDS LIVE for maximum reliability Fuchs Lubricants, a leading manufacturer of industrial fluids, explains its Fluids Live monitoring system for machinery and production fluids.

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SAFE & PERFORMING LUBRICANTS High-tech lubricants dedicated to steel industry : steel making plants, continuous casting & hot rolling

HFDU hydraulic fluids • Auto-extinguishable fluids • High oxidation resistance • Safety of your staff and equipment

Technical greases average consumption reduction

Highly resistant to: • Shocks and heavy loads • Wet environment • Corrosion

*

The monitoring of machinery and production fluids is commonplace in the industrial sector.

Production problems caused by the poor management of lubricants and fluids in use can cause extensive plant or machinery downtime, negatively impacting on a company’s efficiency levels.

To help avoid such a scenario, FUCHS Lubricants – a leading manufacturer of high-performance industrial fluids has added extra layers of sophistication to this monitoring process with the introduction of its Fluids Live system.

Already utilised by more than 100 companies globally – many of which are based in the UK - Fluids Live is an easy to navigate webbased recording, tracking and reporting tool with integrated KPI measurements.

In short, claims Fuchs, the system can be the key to unlocking a successful maintenance strategy, with real time data providing immediate and remote access to data showcasing the current condition of fluids in use.

Within two hours of the collection of data under Fluids Live, information can be updated and production professionals able to make informed decisions on maintenance scheduling, production planning and other operational activities.

Keith Salt, of FUCHS Lubricants’ industrial division, commented: “The feedback we are getting back from the customers utilising Fluids Live is extremely positive.

“It helps determine which machinery is working most effectively and highlights any that are not functioning to their capacity.

“We use our own internal department to design the software which provides the ability to produce bespoke reporting versions for each customer, some of which can be set up in a matter of days.

“We will provide the optimum lubricants and fluids operating conditions for operators which best suit the needs of our customers, giving real flexibility to the many different maintenance management packages available.

“The whole approach is to obtain information from measurements related to equipment reliability and to ensure asset care is being maximised. It’s all designed to enable customers to focus on core business, use employee skill sets accordingly and to take the guess work away, resulting in a hugely significant saving for manufacturers.

“Using the data in the right manner will allow for improved inventory control, reduced and simplified waste management activity and accurate analysis of fluid consumption by any machine, cell or

CONDAT - 104 av. F. Mistral - 38 670 Chasse-sur-Rhône - FRANCe Tel. +33 (0)4 78 07 38 38 - www.condat.fr - info@condat.fr

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process,” Keith Salt commented.

For an average production facility, lubricant purchases normally amount to only 3% of a maintenance budget, but lubrication-related activities can influence an estimated 30% of total maintenance costs, highlighting how crucial this process can be.

Fluids Live is constantly evolving, with recent innovations including the development of an API to enable the transfer of Fluids Live information into a customer’s reporting system. Increasingly sophisticated data management procedures are also set to be introduced soon.

“Another important feature of Fluids Live is that the software is portal driven, giving management teams from companies working within the same group the ability to view other site information and share best practices, both locally and globally.

Most software packages are sold with licence fees, but customers using our lubricants enjoy free use of the software, making additional savings,” Salt concluded.

Fluids Live customers are encouraged to work closely with the FUCHS Lubricants

UK team to ensure trend data is best presented in a format that suits the organisation. �

For further information, log on to www.fuchs.com/uk

QUINTOLUBRIC® 888-68 FIRST APPROVED FIRE-RESISTANT POLYOL ESTER-BASED HYDRAULIC FLUID BY STEEL INSTITUTE (VDEh) The Fluid Power world is changing. Safety and Environmental demands are becoming more severe. This means that leakages are reduced to a minimum and endurance of the hydraulic fluid is challenged to the max.

To combine Safety through fire-resistance, Environment protection through biodegradability and Effectiveness through extended service life without jeopardizing the performances of your hydraulic unit, you need Quaker. We’ve been the leading supplier for fire-resistant polyol ester-based hydraulic fluids for more then 50 years. We are in use at the biggest names in heavy industry. No surprise Quaker is the first company meeting the severe requirements (SEB 181 224) set by the Steel Institute (VDEh). At the heart of the heavy industry, you’ll find QUINTOLUBRIC® 888.

It’s what’s inside that counts.®

quintolubric.com | info@quakerchem.com © 2019 Quaker Chemical Corporation. All Rights Reserved

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Fig 1. Ovako EAF with new roof in operation

Increasing EAF safety and reliability In order to increase the availability and safety of its 100t electric arc furnace (EAF), Swedish steel producer Ovako Hofors replaced its tubular water-cooled roof with a spray-cooled roof. In June 2017, the order was awarded to Systems Spray-Cooled Inc. with a short lead time for design and delivery of only six months and for original installation in January 2018. After preparation in smaller shutdowns prior to the main shutdown, the roof was successfully installed and commissioned in August 2018. In this article, the project and cooling technology are described along with the results of the installation, which are showing a remarkable reduction in downtime with respect to welding of roof damages.

By Fredrik Boman1 Scott Ferguson2 and Markus Abel3

DURING Ovako Hofors’ summer shutdown in August 2018, the EAF was upgraded with a Spray-Cooled™ roof of a cantilever design to improve cooling system performance and maintenance, while reducing weight. This upgrade significantly improves the safety of the furnace mainly by reducing the risk of steam explosions and allowing for repairs from the top side, which reduces the chance of injury from slag chunks, which was one of the main reasons for the conversion. The roof was designed specifically for Ovako’s furnace and heat loads, to provide the most efficient cooling system and reduce conversion costs by minimising changes to the water system. (Fig 1).

Commissioning of the roof Commissioning of the roof consisted mainly of an in-depth water system inspection to design specifications, training on maintenance of the roof, cold testing of the water system to ensure the evacuation system worked properly, and final hot testing of the roof as typical furnace conditions would produce.

Ovako is a leading European manufacturer of engineering steel for customers in the bearing, transportation and manufacturing industries. With geographical presence in Europe, North America and Asia and a steel product line that includes niche products and customised solutions, Ovako’s mission is to create value for its customers and their customers. Their production is based on recycled scrap and includes steel in the form of bar, tube, ring and pre-components.

Ovako is represented in more than 30 countries, and has sales offices in Europe, North America and Asia. The company’s sales in 2017 amounted to EUR 921 million, and the business employed 3,040 people at year-end. Since June 2018, Ovako has been part of the Japanese Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation that employs 92,000 globally and has a revenue of EUR 37 billion.

Ovako in Hofors Ovako’s steel mill in Hofors has its roots in the mid-16th century and is today the company’s hub, with production in steel

and billet rolling mills and in tube and ring mills.

Higher loads As the demands on high-performance steel components have increased – they have to cope with higher loads for ever-increasing periods – Ovako’s clean steel has evolved to meet these tougher requirements. By preventing fatigue fractures and prolonging the life of components, Ovako’s steel helps customers in everything from the automotive and oil industries to the gas and wind power sectors to create lighter, stronger, more efficient and more compact components. For example, Ovako has made major investments in Hofors in order to provide the wind power industry with bearings up to four metres in diameter. These many investments include development and expansion of the casting system, extension of the forge with a new forging press, substantial improvement of the heating capacity, investment in a new manipulator dimensioned for future needs, and construction of a new ring rolling mill.

Hofors also houses Ovako’s research and

1. OVAKO Hofors AB, 2. Systems Spray-Cooled Inc. 3. Triple S GbR, Germany www.steeltimesint.com

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maintenance personnel for their own use in the early 80s at Marion Steel, USA, SYSTEMS Spray-Cooled™ EAF roofs provide all of the benefits of water-cooling in a safer, more reliable, less troublesome, and more energy efficient manner.

Fig 2. Water ingress through a roof leakage

development department that developed Ovako’s famous IQ-Steel. Thanks to constant improvements and more efficient production, Ovako is able to deliver competitive products to all its customers.

With scrap as the raw material, Ovako also contributes to a more sustainable environment.

To produce steel OVAKO utilises (1) single, 100t oval bottom tapping AC EAF with (3) VLBs with carbon injection, (1) manipulator with (1) oxygen lance operating through the slag door, and (1) lime injection port integrated into the roof. The Spray-Cooled™ roof itself has an oblong diameter of 6800mm x 6300mm ID and a height of 1063mm, with a 6500mm x 5800mm ID

3

upper shell loaded with a 2-bucket charge.

The transformer capacity is 80 MVA ± 20% controlled by an AMI DigitARC PX3 electrode regulation system and SmartARC, which was installed in the same outage as the Spray-Cooled™ Roof.

For refining, 100% of the heats pass through an ASEA-SKF LMF with steampowered degassing unit, revamped in 2009 with twin cars for higher utilisation.

The steel is then vacuum treated, and afterwards cast into high quality ingots of two sizes: 4.2t for rolling, and 8.4t for forging.

Spray-Cooled technology Developed by EAF operations and

Resolving problems The unique one-piece design has proven successful on all types, shapes and sizes of EAF, as well as ‘hybrid’ electrical and chemical energy source furnaces. Patented and proprietary application methods, designs and components have resolved many of the most historically problematic areas of the furnace roof and “hot spots”. With over 30 years of continuing technological development on hundreds of successful installations around the world, our Spray-Cooled™ EAF roofs have been and continue to be the mainstay application of Spray-Cooled™ technology. (Fig 2) Big River Steel Today, not only EAF roofs and elbows are cooled this way, but also the EAF upper shells as well as even drop-out-boxes and complete water-cooled off-gas ducts, as to be seen on Fig. 3 and Fig.4. The latest conversion of the complete EAF as described was done at Big River Steel in Osceola, Arkansas, USA, in 2016.

Leaving behind the EAF, Spray Cooled™ technology is also successfully installed at ladle furnaces (LF), submerged arc furnaces (SAF), basic oxygen furnaces (BOF) as well as argon-oxygen decarburisation converters (AOD).

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Fig 3 and Fig 4.

3-D picture and photograph of a complete EAF conversion, including ductwork

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Delta cylinder Delta chamber

Access hatch Delta flange

Rib Dust cover O.D. wall

Drain channel

Fig 5. Roof Section View Sacrificial round bar Spray bar Hot plate

Fig 6. Roof Spray Bars

Fig. 8. HMI screenshot of the cooling water system

Fig. 7: Patented nozzle

The science behind the system Spray-Cooled™ equipment operates at atmospheric pressure. The water is not getting evaporated and the cooling water is not pumped across the area to be cooled. Therefore, the potential for high pressure/ volume water leakages is eliminated. Positive extraction of the spent cooling water further reduces the amount of water present within the equipment.

By relying upon water drop impingement cooling at atmospheric pressure rather than stream cooling or evaporative cooling, Spray-Cooled™ technology provides all of the benefits of water-cooling at greater efficiency than conventional water-cooling methods in a design that provides a much safer operating and maintenance environment in the melt shop.

As seen on Fig.5 and Fig.6, spray nozzles are oriented to spray around the roof delta and down the roof slope. Therefore, fresh water fills in behind the exiting spent cooling water to flush the water off the surfaces and improve cooling. The water does not evaporate, but is collected at the edge of the roof in an outside water channel where it is evacuated through Venturi jet pumps.

Patented large bore nozzles (Fig. 7) that July/August 2019

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are not sensitive to plugging, are available in different sizes and can be arranged in various ways in order to meet on-demand cooling, where different water flows are based on high heat load areas. The advantage over tubular cooling is that there is no need to increase water to the entire tubular circuit, but rather easily increase flow by replacing with bigger-sized nozzles or adding more nozzles.

Mechanical revamp For the water system conversion, SYSTEMS Spray-Cooled supplied the following aggregates: • One new Venturi motive water recirculation system consisting of: (1) tank with a capacity of 2.300 gallons / 8,7 m3 (2) centrifugal pumps with 1.470 GPM / 334 m3/h @ 60 PSI / 4,1 bar and 55 kW motors each (1 standby) (2) 8” / 200mm Venturi pumps • (2) 10” / 250mm Manual basket strainers (1 standby) • Electrical cabinet with 75kW main switch (Fig 8)

The basic engineering of the piping system was designed by SYSTEMS SprayCooled using a laser-scanned point cloud for reference. The fabrication and installation were done by a local piping crew that also supervised and executed the erection and commissioning of the system.

Autodesk ReCap was used to process and edit the laser scan out of the point cloud.

The model was converted into Autodesk Inventor, where the piping and mechanical components were designed in place, as intended to be designed in the field.The Spray-Cooled™ EAF roof was designed and engineered by SYSTEMS Spray-Cooled and fabricated and delivered by KAUTZ Technologies. Figs 9 - 12 Operational results Here are some results of the installation that can be named for 2018: • the repair works on the roof with respect to welding were slightly higher than 1.400 minutes until installation of the new spray cooled roof.

• from the installation of the new roof in August until the end of 2018, only slightly more than 150 minutes of welding had been necessary, which translates into www.steeltimesint.com

22/07/2019 11:19:02

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Figs 9 - 12. Pictures of the new cooling water system and Spray-Cooled™ roof Ovako roof at fabrication shop

24 hours less repair work in the mentioned period • further improvements are in progress to check out high stress areas in order to improve even more.

Conclusion Spray-Cooled™ furnace equipment is a safer and more efficient cooling method compared to pressurised tubular circuits or insulative refractory systems, but typically requires modifications to the cooling water July/August 2019

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system due to cooling system requirements.

These modifications can seem scary at first glance, but typically are straightforward.

The integration of this conversion process can be made much simpler by having detailed dimensions in the area, most easily provided in the form of laser-scanned point clouds, which remove lots of risk in the design process compared to out-dated drawings.

The conversion pays off when the

reduction of necessary repair works and overall maintenance costs as well furnace downtime is taken into consideration. It also leads to an increase in productivity.

Acknowledgments The authors are appreciative of the Ovako project and operation teams for their support and teamwork in the development and successful implementation of the new SYSTEMS Spray-Cooled™ EAF roof and accompanying conversion changes. � www.steeltimesint.com

22/07/2019 11:19:04

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PERSPECTIVES

47

Voices from the past This month’s Perspectives page takes a look back to 2018 and the selected responses from a range of leading suppliers to the global steel industry

1. What is your view on the current state of the global steel industry?

Specialised steel organisations forecast a growth of 50% by 2050 and global steel use has grown more than seven-fold since 1950. By 2050, steel use is projected to increase by 1.5 times that of present levels, to meet the needs of our growing global population. All this has encouraged CONDAT to make this market a priority for its range of industrial lubricants.

2. Is the steel industry well-placed to take advantage of digital manufacturing?

The steel industry has modernised over

the years and it is certain that digital manufacturing will play an increasingly important role in the years ahead. Digital will certainly have its place in the future of the industry. There are a lot of possible applications for the steel manufacturing process, like quality control on finished products, control of the process chain, online control of the fluids (air, water, oil, emulsions) and predictive maintenance.

the same level of requirements in terms of environmental impact. I will also use this power to improve safety for the workers as it remains a really difficult and risky job.

Thank god, companies are not waiting for my superpower as they have already committed a lot of resources in this action.

3. If you possessed a superpower, how would you use it to improve the global steel industry?

I will use it to make this industry cleaner and make all governments worldwide have

Franck Dufresne, steel industry business developer, CONDAT. [Jan/Feb 2018].

ongoing crisis for the steel industry in recent years. A lot of this stems from subsidised over-production in China undercutting the competition. Rebalancing the market is key: the deal reached at the recent G20 summit to better manage production capacity is a good first step, as are the promising predictions that Chinese exports will decrease as its domestic market improves.

1. How would you solve the issue of global overcapacity?

Global overcapacity has produced an

2. Which breakthrough technologies will have a revolutionary impact on the steel industry?

3-D printing has got to be a contender for revolutionary leader. Whichever technology becomes the champion of radical change in

engineering and manufacturing, however, is unlikely to be one size fits all.

3. What challenges face global steel producers?

While recent years have shown up some problems for the steel industry, there’s certainly been a recognition of this with positive actions being taken to address key issue-areas, so I’m optimistic going forward.

More immediate challenges are whether we’re identifying the right solutions: for example, the protectionist response from America. Brexit is overplayed, as I’m quite sure that once trade deals are sorted, we’ll continue to respond to new markets.

Edgar Rayner, technical director, LTI-Metaltech [March 2018] www.steeltimesint.com

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PERSPECTIVES

1. How quickly has the steel industry responded to ‘green politics’ in terms of making the production process more environmentally friendly and are they succeeding or fighting a losing battle?

In the EU we have the highest environmental standards. There have been a lot of initiatives to reduce CO2 emissions, to save energy and water, to reduce all kinds of emissions. If the rest of the mills in the world, notably in China, faced the same challenges over the next few years, it would be a big advantage for the EU steel industry. But if the environmental standards in other regions of the world remain much lower, the steel produced without stringent environment controls will eventually replace EU steel or – if

we are talking about steel intensive products – the whole production of the final goods might be shifted elsewhere.

2. China dominates global crude steel production and is accountable for almost half of total production. How should the industry react to this situation?

Our big customers have their own production in China. Usually it is a dedicated market. In the next couple of years standard products and components will be exported from China to the rest of the world and Europe. But with shortening lead-times, projects that start without being 100% exactly defined will be difficult to

fulfil purely from Chinese production. In addition to this, we are talking about big and heavy pieces that often require special logistics and that are not as easy to handle as ‘normal’ plates.

3. Apart from strong coffee, what keeps you awake at night?

I sleep well and Jebens has a very good strategic position. Therefore I spend my nights either by sleeping or enjoying a good glass of wine. The only thing that might interfere with my dreams would be substantial health problems in the family or worries about the kids, which I normally do not have.

Carsten Schmickler, managing director, Jebens. [May-June 2018]

1. What is your view of the current state of the steel industry?

The steel industry faces a big challenge in the current state of oversupply – Chinese steel production has grown tremendously in the last decade or so while other markets have failed to keep up. Today, this sees global capacity stabilised around 1.5 billion tonnes, while the global demand is maintaining at around 1 billion tonnes.

As a result, many steel companies are presented with profitability issues and an unpredictable market.

What’s the impact of this change? We see companies continuing to add capacity to increase profitability, intensifying competition between the most efficient producers, and ultimately pushing some

players out of the market.

This competition will manifest itself in firms needing to keep costs as low as possible while simultaneously competing on the quality of the end product – a significant challenge.

As such, there is no room in the industry for inefficiencies – firms increasingly require planning across the whole supply chain, from precise estimation of demand, through inbound supply and production, to outbound supply delivery. This is driving replacement of older style silo planning and scheduling tools with technologies like

those provided by Quintiq.

2. Where do you see most innovation in terms of production technologies – primary, secondary or more downstream?

Mostly in secondary, as there is more room for advanced automation, robotics, IoT and data-driven optimisation leading to more added value and, therefore, making themselves more competitive in terms of pricing and production.

Markus Malinen, vice president of Europe, Middle East, Africa and Russia, Quintiq [April STI 2018].

July/August 2019

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PERSPECTIVES

1. Is aluminium ‘greener’ than steel?

Aluminium needs an incredible amount of energy, much more than for the production of steel. In terms of sustainability, aluminium has a greater potential, because, for recycling, only a tiny portion of that energy is needed to remelt. However, recycled aluminium is rarely the preferred form and, therefore, it is still produced, usually with a very high expense of ‘non-green’ energy. Aluminium is not greener than steel.

2. Can you discuss any contracts you are currently working on?

We have developed a robotised solution for a prominent French steel producer for the currently manually operated repair station for 30-tonne steel coils with a width of up to 1.85 metres. Every employer in the steel industry has a legal obligation to offer his or her employees a safe workplace. At the aforementioned repair station, operator safety has been an issue for a long time.

We recently received a big contract from a large German steel producer to solve completely different handling issues.

3. How should the industry react to global overcapacity?

For the short term in Europe we should focus on innovation. It is only a matter of time before labour and energy costs in China are on the same level as in Europe, because the Chinese government wants to change the country’s image from low-cost producer to a high tech industry. That’s why there is more competition between Western and Eastern technologies.

Rob Beentjes and Hans Spaans, CEO and CTO of Tebulo. [October STI 2018].

1. What is your view on the current state of the global steel industry?

Like most industries, I see a lot of rationalisation and change in production optimisation, increase in global demand and the use of recycled materials. While the industry might be going through a lot of changes, I do believe it’s for the good.

It allows the steel industry to deliver better quality and higher grade steels. It does mean, though, that especially for clean and carbon steel, but also special and high-alloyed steels, high precision analysis instruments are more in demand. We may also see the number of steel mills reduce, but the quality of product will improve.

2. Why is Industry 4.0 so important to the future of steel production?

People have been talking about 4.0 for a long time now, at least five to 10 years.

We’re starting to see more and more automated factories, including aluminium and steel plants.

What this means is that we’re seeing requests for automation from customers. Centralised data management systems will be important too. Aerospace and automotive will be the first to move

with big producers being the innovators and early adopters.

But I believe it will eventually cascade to smaller producers too.

Definitely something we’re keeping a close eye on.

3. If you possessed a superpower,how would you use it to improve the global steel industry?

I would eliminate waste, make everyone recycle everything and there would be improved efficiency. Don’t ask me how, I have the superpower.

Dawn Brooks, managing director, Hitachi Hi-Tech Analytical Science [September STI 2018]

1. If you possessed a superpower, how would you improve things?

I would make the global steel industry ecologically exemplary while contributing to the economic development of less fortunate regions of the world.

2. How optimistic are you for the global steel industry going forward?

I am reasonably optimistic that the steel industry is better prepared now than in the past to withstand the economic cycles,

thanks to many structural reforms already in place. The environmental challenges will continue to put pressure on the industry.

There are, of course, other geo-political constraints that could adversely impact the industry in the short-term.

3. How important is Industry 4.0?

Digital science will play an important role in the predictability, optimisation and productivity of the entire process from raw materials to the final product.

Automation will become more “democratised” across the steel plants for increased productivity, reliability and resource utilisation.

Dr. Ravi Yellepeddi, senior director, market development, elemental and structural analysis, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Switzerland [November/December 2018]. www.steeltimesint.com

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22/07/2019 10:49:59

ED E IT AT M G S LI LE CE E A D SP

INDUSTRY 4.0 AND THE STEELMAKING PROCESS 25-26 SEPTEMBER 2019 BUDAPEST • HUNGARY If you want to know what’s happening in the world of ultra-high technology and the production of steel, then look no further than the only steel conference in the world dedicated 100% to Industry 4.0 and how it – and its related technologies – can aid and optimise the steel manufacturing process.

DELEGATE REGISTRATION The conference fee includes a 2-day conference programme, refreshments, a networking lunch and conference proceedings. Register online to subscribe to the Future Steel Forum membership package which will include a subscription to Steel Times International, the Steel Times International Directory, relevant news alerts and admission to the Future Steel Forum, 25-26 September 2019, Sofitel Hotel, Budapest, Hungary.

Delegate registration fees for this conference are as follows:

Join us in Budapest, Hungary on 25-26 September 2019 to discuss, debate and discover the latest hard hitting topics that are facing steel manufacturers in this digital age. Visit the website to view the full conference programme www.FutureSteelForum.com

Standard rate

£990

Group bookings (5+ delegates)

£792 (per delegate)

Please note the conference fees will also be subject to value added tax where applicable.

SPEAKERS INCLUDE:

Official Media Partner

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Join our Future Steel Forum Group

1 866 2019

Organised by:

Dr Svend Lassen, Tata Steel Europe

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Dr Marcus J. Neuer, VDEh-Betrebsforschungsintitut

Diego Diaz, ArcelorMittal

Stephen Pratt, Noodle AI

Cyril Peillon, Fives Group

Farrokh Mistree, University of Oklahoma

Dr MilisavljeviceSyed, University of Liverpool

Dr Nils Naujok, PwC Strategy&

www.FutureSteelForum.com 22/07/2019 10:50

ED E IT AT M G S LI LE CE E A D SP

INDUSTRY 4.0 AND THE STEELMAKING PROCESS 25-26 SEPTEMBER 2019 BUDAPEST • HUNGARY If you want to know what’s happening in the world of ultra-high technology and the production of steel, then look no further than the only steel conference in the world dedicated 100% to Industry 4.0 and how it – and its related technologies – can aid and optimise the steel manufacturing process.

DELEGATE REGISTRATION The conference fee includes a 2-day conference programme, refreshments, a networking lunch and conference proceedings. Register online to subscribe to the Future Steel Forum membership package which will include a subscription to Steel Times International, the Steel Times International Directory, relevant news alerts and admission to the Future Steel Forum, 25-26 September 2019, Sofitel Hotel, Budapest, Hungary.

Delegate registration fees for this conference are as follows:

Join us in Budapest, Hungary on 25-26 September 2019 to discuss, debate and discover the latest hard hitting topics that are facing steel manufacturers in this digital age. Visit the website to view the full conference programme www.FutureSteelForum.com

Standard rate

£990

Group bookings (5+ delegates)

£792 (per delegate)

Please note the conference fees will also be subject to value added tax where applicable.

SPEAKERS INCLUDE:

Official Media Partner

@Future_Steel

Join our Future Steel Forum Group

1 866 2019

Organised by:

Dr Svend Lassen, Tata Steel Europe

FSF_DPS_Delegate_Ad.indd 2-3

Dr Marcus J. Neuer, VDEh-Betrebsforschungsintitut

Diego Diaz, ArcelorMittal

Stephen Pratt, Noodle AI

Cyril Peillon, Fives Group

Farrokh Mistree, University of Oklahoma

Dr MilisavljeviceSyed, University of Liverpool

Dr Nils Naujok, PwC Strategy&

www.FutureSteelForum.com 22/07/2019 10:50

52

HISTORY Alexander Raby’s furnace today at Llanelli, South Wales

Alexander Raby – a man of metal VISITING THE SITE The eldest son of a London ironmonger, Alexander Raby was born in 1747 and lived to the ripe old age of 88 – a significant achievement for those times. By Tim Smith* IN 1764, Alexander Raby was assisting his father, Edward, at the Sussex-based Warren furnace, which, among other products, cast guns and shot for the Board of Ordnance.

This market was precarious, highly profitable in times of war, but vanished in times of peace, often leaving gun-founders with cancelled orders and unsold stock on their hands. Smaller guns could be sold for merchant ships, but in times of war, it was only the government that required ‘great’ guns. Indeed, Edward Raby was declared bankrupt in 1764, but two years later was back in business again offering guns to the Board of Ordnance.

Edward Raby died in 1771 when Alexander, now 23, was manager of the Warren furnace. Even before his father’s death he was establishing his own businesses, taking leases on water-powered sites in the adjacent county of Surrey and converting them to forges, rolling mills and foundries.

Local furnaces and forges were charcoalfired, but at his Downside Mill he brought in coal, since no coal measures occurred in the region, and built coke ovens to provide coke to fire air furnaces to melt metal for castings in iron and brass.

In his rolling mill he produced sheet for tin plating and employed women in preparing the iron plates for tinning.

Despite having coke, charcoal-refined iron was considered better quality for tinplate with coke-refined iron considered inferior and simply referred to as ‘coke plate’.

At Coxes Mill, a major output was hoops for barrels, which were in great demand by the government’s Victualling Board during the American war of Independence from 1776 to 1783. This forge had a hammer working at 2,700 blows per hour (45/min),

which attracted complaints due to the noise. Likewise, complaints came from the owners of the canal, which supplied the water to turn the water wheels following unauthorised breaches to take more water.

In 1798, he proposed building a new mill with the aim of adopting Cort’s puddling and rolling method of refining pig iron patented in 1783/84, but there is no evidence this new mill was built.

In 1792, he took a lease on the Dale Abbey ironworks at Stanton, Derbyshire.

The works had two coke-fired blast furnaces that produced 474 tons of iron in 1796.

No doubt, the local coal measures had attracted his attention since Abraham Darby introduced the first coke-fired furnaces at Coalbrookdale in Shropshire in 1709.

That same year, Raby moved to Llanelli, then a small fishing village and coal export port in South Wales, 12 miles west of Swansea. Here, he established himself as an iron and coal baron with interests in railways, ports and shipping.

He is credited with the growth of Llanelli to an industrial centre which, by 1886, boasted seven tinplate works, a copper smelting works, four large foundries, a lead and silver works, a ship-building yard, three saw mills and six collieries, the latter exporting 87.5kt/yr. Today, only tinplate production remains in the town at Tata Steel’s Trostre works.

Raby took over a coke-fired furnace built in 1793 and in 1800 built a second furnace at present day Furnace on the North West edge of the town. Here, he also built himself a house. Output from the first furnaces was 1,664 tons in 1796 rising to 2,267 tons in 1805 from the two furnaces. At first, demand was stimulated by the Napoleonic war (1803-15) and

The site is at NGR SN 504 015 off the E side of the B4309 at Furnace on the NW edge of Llanelli. Turn first right after 250m from the junction with Rhodfa Llwyneithin road. This is the dam of the lower furnace pond under which culverts can be seen. The upper pond, still in water, is 500m N. To access the furnace turn right immediately crossing the dam and descend a flight of concrete steps.

Turn left at the bottom for ~ 100m to the furnace.

Raby supplied the Board of Ordnance with carronades (short barrelled cannon) and round shot. In 1804 he built a new forge with a mill to roll bar. However, orders for ordnance ceased in 1805 following Nelson’s victory at Trafalgar. He constructed a dock and installed Trevithick high-pressure steam engines in one of his collieries and at his furnaces and forges. He owned four ships and a network of horse drawn tramways including the Carmarthenshire Rail Road Company to bring iron ore and limestone some 12 miles to his furnaces. Good to his workers, he paid high wages and built over 100 cottages to house them.

But, by 1806, Rail Road shareholders were complaining they were not receiving the expected dividends and Raby experienced a financial crisis. Tramway tolls were owed and £1,000 rent on the sites of his furnaces. To raise funds, he sold his interests in Derbyshire and Surrey. By 1809 he was in financial difficulty again and all his assets in Llanelli were put up for sale.

With his son, and help from friends, he set up a new company supplying iron and coal, but both furnaces were out of blast by 1815, the year of the end of the Napoleonic wars. By 1820, Raby & Son were in debt by £10,000 and work at the forge stopped. At the age of 76, Alexander Raby retired and in 1825 was forced to leave Llanelli. He moved to Bath in Somerset where he died in 1835 at the age of 88. �

* Consulting editor Steel Times International July/August 2019

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www.steeltimesint.com

19/07/2019 15:11:36

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