Italian plant builder Danieli has been kept extremely busy of late by a range of global steelmakers.
The company was taken on by Chinese steelmaker Shougang Jingtang of Tanghshan, China, to refurbish the company’s hot-rolling line 2250 and has been hard at work in Vietnam working on the Pomina 2 rolling mill. Closer to home in France, a four-strand caster supplied by Danieli in 2007 was revamped, while in Russia, Severstal contracted Danieli Corus to supply three sublance systems for three 350t converters at the Cherepovets BOF Shop. There has also been work across the Atlantic for North American electric steelmaker Steel Dynamics Inc.
The Shougang contract was awarded in May and the equipment being refurbished had been in operation since 2008, according to Danieli.
The job was completed in six days, and delivery to the customer was 36 hours ahead of schedule, Danieli claims.
In Vietnam, the company supplied electrical and automation equipment for a rolling mill at the Pomina 2 Works in Phu My Ba Ria Province.
Pomina, one of the largest steel producers in Vietnam, chose Danieli Automation, it is claimed, because of the ‘quality technical solution the company offered and its capability of finishing the job in a short period of time. Contracts were signed in May 20 and completed five months later in October. This contract was the first time Pomina and Danieli had worked together.
Meanwhile, in France, a four-strand caster supplied to Ascoval Saint Saulve back in 2007 was in need of a revamp. It was being used to produce 180-325mm rounds, but will have its production range extended to include square billets of 150mm to 240mm and rectangular blooms of 300 x 365mm.
The plant will also be producing high-grade rail steel as well as engineering steel grades for industrial applications as Danieli is also installing Rotelec Final Electromagnetic Stirrers and product handling equipment for slow cooling, which, it is claimed, will expand the range of the quality steel grades being produced.
High-grade rail steel as well as engineering steel grades for industrial applications will be produced also thanks to the installation of Danieli Rotelec Final Electromagnetic Stirrers, and product handling for Slow Cooling which will further expand the range of the quality steel grades
According to Danieli, the specialised design of the equipment being installed will minimise the impact of installation. Hot tests are scheduled for August 2020.
Russian steel producer Severstal contracted Danieli Corus to design and supply three sublance systems for three 350t converters at the BOF Shop at Cherepovets.
Danieli Corus is a market leader in sublance-based BOF process control and the implementation of this technology, says the company, will contribute to Severstal’s objective of achieving lower steel production costs while maintaining efficiency and quality.
Sublance technology, in combination with a state-of-the-art process model, enables shorter tap-to-tap times, higher hit rates and reduced consumption of oxygen, energy and flux materials, while improving operating conditions.
In the USA, Danieli has been working on a new billet welder and spooler line producing spooled coils of up to 5 tons, in endless mode, at a Steel Dynamics plant in Columbia City, Indiana.
Among the main equipment being supplied is a 70m conveyor connecting the existing medium section mill to the new spooler line; a 3-MW induction furnace to heat the stock coming from the existing mill, six housing-less SHS 180 roller stands, complete with quick stand-changing table, a 6-pass Delta-type finishing block driven by a low-voltage 2.5-MW motor and finishing services.
For Steel Dynamics, the main benefits include: higher efficiency, productivity and better material yield in downstream cold processing, high mechanical characteristics and good weldability, not to mention a reduction in coil handling and cost-savings through a more efficient operation thanks to the spooler process being combined with the EWR endless rolling process (saving up to $20-22/ton).
Danieli claims that special attention was paid to minimise foundation costs, erection time and production stoppages.
The mill started up 17 months after the contract award date and was, said Danieli, a resounding success. There were no major delays during the project execution and start-up of operations.
