ROLLING
FURNACES
PERSPECTIVES
INNOVATIONS
Myra Pinkham on the US flat-rolled steel market
Improving furnace performance using injection technology
Dawn Brooks, managing director of Hitachi High-Tech Analytical Science
The latest contracts and products news
www.steeltimesint.com September 2018 - Vol.42 No6
STEEL TIMES INTERNATIONAL – September 2018 – Vol.42 No6
STEEL SUCCESS STRATEGIES – CONFERENCE REPORT STI Cover.indd 1
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CONTENTS - SEPTEMBER 2018
ROLLING
FURNACES
PERSPECTIVES
INNOVATIONS
Myra Pinkham on the US flat-rolled steel market
Improving furnace performance using injection technology
Dawn Brooks, managing director of Hitachi High-Tech Analytical Science
The latest contracts and products news
500MN closed die forging press built by Siempelkamp
www.steeltimesint.com September 2018 - Vol.42 No6
STEEL TIMES INTERNATIONAL – September 2018 – Vol.42 No6
STEEL SUCCESS STRATEGIES – CONFERENCE REPORT
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
1
2 Leader By Matthew Moggridge, editor, Steel Times International.
14 Conference report: Steel Success Strategies 2018 “It’s a good time to be making steel”
4 News Astounding facts and figures, industry news and diary dates.
Rolling 20 The US flat roll market 27 Live rolling mill contracts 34 Industry 4.0 The digital transformation of steel
6 Innovations The latest new products. 10 Latin America update Industry 4.0 - the steelmaker’s view
39 Furnaces Improving furnace performance 48 Perspectives: Hitachi High-Tech Analytical Science ‘Things are going pretty good’
12 Iron Kami’s massive benefits
Sales Director Ken Clark kenclark@quartzltd.com Tel: +44 (0) 1737 855117
52 History ‘Forging the Fleet’
Managing Director Steve Diprose stevediprose@quartzltd.com Tel: +44 (0) 1737 855164 Chief Executive Officer Paul Michael SUBSCRIPTION Elizabeth Barford Tel +44 (0) 1737 855028 Fax +44 (0) 1737 855034 Email subscriptions@quartzltd.com
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Steel Times International is published eight times a year and is available on subscription. Annual subscription: UK £182.00 Other countries: £258.00 2 years subscription: UK £324.00 Other countries: £460.00 ) Single copy (inc postage): £41.00 Email: steel@quartzltd.com 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 2018
ISSN0143-7798
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2
LEADER
John Ferriola: “It’s a good time to be making steel.”
Matthew Moggridge Editor matthewmoggridge@quartzltd.com
A lot of people moan about Donald Trump, but the US steel industry is as happy as Larry with how things have turned out, and who can blame them? Trump isn’t everybody’s cup of tea, but his actions are doing the US steel industry many favours: Prices have surged upwards, imports (in May) fell almost 21% and John Ferriola, president and CEO of Nucor Corporation, said: “It’s a good time to be making steel.” And while not everybody would agree with Mr Ferriola’s statement, made at the recent Steel Success Strategies conference in New York, the fact that he can talk about end markets stabilising or improving, increasing orders and a sense of optimism, has to be a good thing . A big criticism of Section 232 tariffs outside of the USA has been the threat of an all-out trade war with China. Well, maybe, but look at it from the USA’s perspective. Or listen to what Philip K Bell of the Steel Manufacturers Association has to say. Turn the page and you’ll find that Mr Bell is the subject of my Quote of the Month. Bell, quite rightly, points out that the USA has spent millions of dollars on anti-dumping and countervailing duty cases only to find that ‘another bad actor’
has emerged or that ‘companies cheat through transhipment and circumvention’. Bell has a point when he says that the USA has been in a trade war for years and let’s face it, where China and overcapacity is concerned, its been top of the agenda at many steel conferences for countless years, leaving observers like yours truly wondering why so little had been done globally – except in the USA. I’ve commented many times in the past on how the Americans appear to be the only nation seemingly grabbing the bull by the horns (with anti-dumping and countervailing cases). In many ways, Section 232 was a last resort. The USA tried to plug the holes more conventionally with anti-dumping and countervailing cases, but in the end it had to resort to something a little stronger: the security of the nation. The US steel industry needed Trump – or somebody like him – to go that extra mile and sort out what was an ailing US steel industry. Now it looks as if everything is tickety boo, but that hasn’t stopped people murmuring about how the good times won’t last forever. My view? Make hay while the sun shines.
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4 NEWS IN BRIEF SSAB shuts down blast furnace operations Swedish steelmaker SSAB has shut down blast furnace operations at its special steels facility in Oxelösund, Sweden. The outage was unplanned and expected to last for two weeks. "The decision to shut down was made after unusually high temperatures in the mantle of the blast furnace. This will be further investigated. The blast furnace was fully refurbished as recently as 2011, with additional work completed in 2016 and was thus fitted out to last until the conversion to electric arc furnace in 2025. Necessary measures are estimated to take around two weeks, followed by the restart of the furnace," said SSAB.
Senior NLMK executive falls from Moscow building A noted Belgian academic who had published more than 500 academic papers and was a senior executive working for Russian steelmaker NLMK, has been found dead after falling from a nine-storey building. A report in the The Sun, a UK tabloid, claims that Dr. De Cooman, who was recently appointed vice president for research and development at NLMK, was completely sober and died in midafternoon. His shocked colleagues ruled out the notion that Dr. De Coonan was suicidal. A police investigation is underway, the circumstances of Dr De Cooman's death remain unclear.
India – an important market for NSSMC
QUOTE OF THE MONTH “You hear about the doom and gloom. You hear about the potential for a trade war, but I think we have already been in a trade war for years. For decades the United States has tried to deal with global steel overcapacity, state ownership and subsidisation. We’ve spent millions of dollars on anti-dumping and countervailing duty cases, but even when we win, another bad actor emerges or companies cheat through transhipment and circumvention.” Philip K Bell, Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA)
Future Steel Forum 2019 – two events The Future Steel Forum conference on Industry 4.0 and the steelmaking process will be held next year in Budapest and New Delhi. The European event takes place at the Sofitel Hotel, Budapest, Hungary, and the Asian conference at the Leela Ambience Hotel, New Delhi, India. The Budapest Forum takes place 25-26 September and the New Delhi event runs from 20-21 November. Paper submissions, contact programme director Matthew Moggridge on matthewmoggridge@quartzltd.com
2019
Sprouts – but not from Brussels
India is the most promising market, according to Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. The company wants to become an 'insider', claims a report by Reuters, in order to capitalise on what the Japanese steel giant views as the world's third-biggest steel market. Trade and distribution issues, however, make it imperative that NSSMC becomes a so-called insider and that, claims NSSMC's executive vice president in an interview with Reuters, is why the Japanese steel company is bidding, in collaboration with ArcelorMittal, for Essar Steel. A decision at the end of the month.
‘Sprouts’ is claimed to be India’s larg-
For more global steel news, log on to our news website, www.steeltimesint.com
mark and the most memorable con-
est site-specific public art installation, conceived by the country’s pioneering urban artist Vibhor Sogani. ‘Sprouts’ is spread over six acres of greens surrounding a major flyover in the heart of New Delhi. Designed to showcase the capital of India as a ‘world city’, the installation is symbolic of the feeling that India is rising after 60 years of independence. Using new age materials symbolising 'growth', the installation is now a common land-
temporary public image of New Delhi.
September 2018
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INDUSTRY NEWS
DIARY OF EVENTS
Astounding Facts and Figures...
September 2018
• ThyssenKrupp, the global leader in urban mobility, maintains 337 elevators at Microsoft's corporate headquarters, and has three full-time service technicians overseeing building transportation onsite in partnership with property manager, CBRE. To meet the escalating transportation demands of the 8 million square foot campus, thyssenkrupp recently installed its MAX predictive maintenance system on 69 elevators.
• After reaching an all-time record of 17.9 million vehicles in 2016, North American light vehicle production fell about 4.2% to slightly above 17 million light vehicles last year. The production rate slipped slightly during the first half of this year to an annualised rate of about 16.8 million units, auto output could gain momentum in the second half. It is possible that for the full year North American auto output could be up as much as 2% to about 17.3 million vehicles.
Source: Benzinga.com
Source: Tata Steel Europe.
Source: Metal Bulletin Research
• Tata Steel Europe has supplied more than 1Mt of pipeline for oil and gas projects in the North Sea, including in excess of four million metres of welded pipelines, 500,000 metres of reel installed pipe and more than £250 million invested in UK subcontracts for North Sea projects. Today the company continues to service the UK oil and gas industry, but of course this relies on an oil and gas supply.
• The Royal Navy built the first iron-hulled frigate, Warrior, in 1859 and today it survives at the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard in the UK. • The Port of Brownsville on the southern tip of Texas, USA, claims to move more steel into Mexico than any other port in the USA, says Steve Tyndal, Port of Brownsville’s senior director for business development.
• “Steel consumption in India has been growing between 5 and 6% in the last two years,” according to Sanjay Jayram, executive vice president (sales & marketing) at JSW.
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25 8th ICSTI 2018 Location: Vienna, Austria. Organised by ASMET. A wide-ranging conference for steel industry professionals covering a variety of topics linked to the steelmaking process. A forum for best practice and state-of-the-art technology. Further information, log on to www.icsti2018.org 26-27 6th MENA Billet & Steelmaking Raw Materials Conference Organised by Metal Expert. Leading speakers from the region and further afield. Further information, log on to www.metalexpert.com
October 2018 1-3 North American Steel Conference Location: Swisshotel, Chicago, USA. Organised by CRU. The definitive US steel industry conference is an annual event organised by CRU and held in the Swisshotel, Chicago for the second consecutive year. Trade regulation will be discussed. Further information, log on to https://events.crugroup. com/nasteel/home
• According to the USbased Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, domestic shipments of major home appliances were up 2.8% year-on-year in July. Also, according to the AIA’s latest consensus forecast, US non-residential construction is expected to increase by 4.7% in 2018 and by another 4% in 2019.
11-12 South East Asia Steel Conference Location: Bangkok, Thailand. Organised by MetalExpert. A wide-ranging conference tackling some of the big issues affecting the global steel industry, such as the impact of sanctions and the expansion of Iran's presence in the South East Asian billet market and whether Chinese billet exporters can regain lost positions. Further information, log on to www.metalexpert-group. com 11-13 Metalex Vietnam 2018 Location: Saigon Exhibition & Convention Centre, Ho Chi Minh City. Organised by Reed Tradex. Conference examining business growth in the emerging market of Vietnam. Further information, log on to www.metalexco.th September 2018
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INNOVATIONS
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A transfer bar cooling system, recently supplied by London-based Primetals Technologies, was commissioned in the hot strip mill of Tata Steel´s Port Talbot integrated steel plant in South Wales, United Kingdom. According to Primetals, the purpose of the cooling system, which is installed after the roughing mill, is the precise control of the strip temperature before it enters the finishing mill, without having to slow down the roughing mill. This results in an increase of production capacity by approximately 150kt (metric tons) of hot strip per year. The system relies upon Primetals’ power cooling technology, which is designed to achieve the highest cooling rates. It can be implemented as intensive cooling between the roughing and the finishing mill area, leading, claims the company, to improved strip temperature control for increasing productivity. Tata Steel Port Talbot’s hot strip mill has a nominal capacity of about 3.4Mmt/year. The Port Talbot integrated steel plant produces slabs, hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanised coils. The transfer bar cooling system installed after the roughing mill exit table employs a total of 18 spray headers in its initial configuration, nine top and nine bottom headers, and may be extend-
ed with additional headers at a later time. The total length of the transfer bar cooling system is approximately 10m. In order to cope with a large variety of steel grades and process requirements, especially the minimum surface temperature of the bar during cooling, the flow rates of the power cooling headers are adjustable over a wide range, so that a lower cooling intensity is also achievable as required for each individual product. Each header is flow-controlled by a separate ball segment valve. In addition to the transfer bar cooling system, Primetals’ scope of supply included the affected roller table, including motors, drives and transformers, an overhead tank, a booster pump station and a cross-spray pump station. Level 1 and level 2 automation as well as the interface to the existing hot strip mill automation system were also provided. Primetals says that transfer bar cooling technology was tested for the first time at voestalpine Stahl in Linz, Austria, in 2003. The first industrial installation was set up at Thyssen Krupp Bruckhausen in Germany in 2013.
For further information, log on to www.primetals.com
September 2018
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INNOVATIONS
Sandvik to ‘solve corrosion with science’ at Eurocorr 2018
‘Solving corrosion with science, together we can do it’ is the theme Sandvik will be taking to Eurocorr 2018, billed as Europe’s most renowned corrosion conference. Sandvik claims it is committed to offering the best in corrosion-resistant projects and says that it works with customers to solve a range of problems and challenges. The company’s corrosion experts will be on hand to discuss Sandvik’s range of corrosion resistant duplex stainless steels, including hydraulic and instrumentation tubing, heat exchanger and high temperature tubing. In addition to product excellence, Sandvik will focus on promoting its ‘high level of knowledge and expertise’ on the subject of corrosion, and claims it is looking forward to talking about material solutions with visitors. Barinder Ghai, regional technical marketing manager, EMEA, for Sandvik, commented: “We’re excited to be exhibiting at Eurocorr again and are looking forward to welcoming existing and new customers alike to our stand. We believe this event provides a great opportunity to network with like-minded colleagues, including individual members and representatives of international corrosion societies, to discuss the latest issues and solutions. According to Gai, the company’s ‘highly experienced team’ will offer their advice on technical issues and products, including Sandvik’s range of corrosion-resistant alloys and new technologies and practices designed for corrosion problem solving. Sandvik believes that its higher yield strength product translates into significantly higher pressure tolerance and lower weight, which in turn enables more compact system designs. The latest offering is Sandvik SAF 2707 HD, a hyper-duplex material developed for critical applications in a range of process industries. The product is claimed to consistently outperform most other materials in severe chloride containing environments, such as seawater-cooled heat exchangers, and can serve as a very competitive alternative to expensive nickel alloys and high-alloy austenitic stainless steels in the most demanding applications. For further information, log on to www.sandvik.com September 2018
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JSW orders SMS high-speed billet caster Indian steelmaker JSW Steel, part of the Jindal Group, has awarded German OEM SMS Concast (part of the SMS group) an order for a 5(6) strand high-speed billet caster as part of a wider expansion plan for the steel producer’s plant in Toranagallu, India. The existing plant consists of a 160-ton electric arc furnace, ladle furnace, billet caster and rolling mill. After installation of the new billet caster, the plant’s annual production will increase to 1.5Mt. According to SMS Concast, the new caster will be designed for fast casting of square billets with an edge length of 165mm and its configuration will allow the common use of spares in two different steel meltshops, which, it is claimed, will decrease OPEX. Furthermore, the latest technology will be applied to reach the specified productivity and OPEX targets. Two special products are the low-maintenance CONDRIVE oscillation drive and INVEX® mold technology. SMS Concast claims that the CONDRIVE mold oscillation system ‘represents a totally new approach’ as it combines the advantages of hydraulic and mechanical drives in one. The system’s torque drive enables the amplitude, frequency and oscillation profile to be adjusted online and independently, meaning that it grants full functionality without the drawbacks of a hydraulic system in terms of maintenance and piping. CONDRIVE, says SMS Concast, is one part of the company’s advanced mainte-
nance concept with a view to a reduced spare parts inventory. As for productivity, the SMS Concast-developed INVEX® mold allows for very high strand throughputs in the region of 790 kg/min. “The special tube geometry and enhanced water cooling features allow the mold to achieve efficient heat transfer and thus a more uniform solidification at the faces and in the corner areas, thus enabling higher casting speeds,” SMS explained.
“Considering the very good performance of the existing SMS Concast equipment, its advanced technology and reduced OPEX, we have decided to go for another co-operation in order to implement our expansion plan,” says Mr. Purushottam Prasad from JSW Steel. For further information, log on to www.sms-group.com
www.steeltimesint.com
04/09/2018 11:20:24
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10
LATIN AMERICA UPDATE
Industry 4.0 – the steelmaker’s view Based on an original research report, which formed part of Project I2027, this article examines Brazilian steel companies’ perception of the growing spread of technological clusters associated with Industry 4.0 – or ‘smart manufacturing’. The Brazilian Industry Confederation (CNI) supported the report financially. Diffusion in 2022 ACCORDING to the Brazilian steelmakers consulted, the dissemination of Internet of Things (IoT) in the world steel industry will be moderate in 2022 (Table 1). There is undoubtedly greater use of IoT, but some barriers will not be completely overcome. The diffusion of fast and secure communication networks (SCN) will be moderate-to-high. Intense demand for high-speed networks, availability and adherence to the need for each application will be a strong requirement. Wireless technologies will be more robust and widely distributed and will allow a scalable and secure integration, either within an industrial plant, or among the different plants of a company and even along the entire value chain. The diffusion of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data and Cloud Computing technologies in the global steel industry will be moderate in 2022. Faced with increased competition, the solutions and products will be increasingly customised, requiring greater flexibility of on-cloud and business intelligence models. Demand for unlimited processing capacity will take over due to the requirement for real-time responses. The dissemination of intelligent and connected production (ICP) in the world steel industry will be moderate in 2022. Increased robotisation, with autonomous systems conducting the process, will allow the labour force to be replaced in high-risk activities, guaranteeing greater safety and health. Other benefits will be derived from better use of inputs (reducing environmental impacts) and enhanced operational practices through predictive and prescriptive solutions (enabling improved use of equipment and a reduction of inventories). In other words, the steel
2017 Internet of Things (IoT)
2022
2027 High
Low
Moderate
Moderate
Moderate/High
High
Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data and Cloud Computing
Low
Moderate
Moderate
Intelligent and connected production (ICP)
Low
Moderate
Moderate
Advanced materials in the steel industry
Low
Low
Moderate
Advanced materials in the steel consuming sectors
Low
Moderate
Moderate
Nanotechnology
Low
Low
Low/Moderate
Energy storage
Low
Low
Moderate
Fast and secure communication networks (SCN)
Table 1: Predominant perception of the Brazilian steelmakers regarding the diffusion of Industry 4.0’s technologies in the world steel industry
industry tends to become “cleaner and leaner”. In the opinion of the companies consulted, in 2022: a) the diffusion of new materials (composites) in the global steel industry will stay low; b) the dissemination of these materials in consumer sectors will be moderate; c) a natural trajectory of the technological development to produce better steel products will be strengthened. The diffusion of nanostructured materials in the global steel industry will remain restricted in 2022. The companies surveyed were sceptical about the applicability of these materials in the sector. The dissemination of nanostructured
* Professor in Economics, Federal University of Uberlândia, Brazil. E-mail: germano@ufu.br
materials in the consumer sectors, although higher than in the steel industry, will also remain limited. The diffusion of energy storage technologies in the world steel industry will continue to be constrained too in 2022. Diffusion in 2027 In the prevailing perception of the Brazilian steelmakers consulted, the diffusion of IoT in the world steel industry will be high in 2027. IoT, driven by cost savings and network performance, will continue to grow rapidly. Those companies that would not adhere to the trend of full connectivity and information exchange will suffer from the competitive environment and possibly will not withstand the pressures of new connected products on the market. The dissemination of SCN in the world steel industry will be likewise high in 2027. A fast and secure communication network will be the critical success factor for building
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LATIN AMERICA UPDATE
11
“smart” and, therefore, more competitive enterprises. This type of technology will be cheap and widely available. The diffusion of AI, Big Data and Cloud Computing technologies in the world steel industry will be moderate in 2027. Although agility in decision-making will be essential for “Enterprise 4.0”, this technology tends to be applied primarily by the largest players in the market. The application of this technological cluster will be more selective, not disseminating to all companies, unlike the two clusters previously analysed. The diffusion of ICP technologies in the world steel industry will be moderate in 2027 too. On the one hand, the connected and intelligent industry will gain advances in many sectors and such technologies will be feasible, such as the convergence of products in services and solutions. On the other hand, this technological cluster will not be disseminated by all sectors, but with some degree of selectivity, which justifies moderate diffusion. In the perception of the consulted firms, in 2027: a) the diffusion of new materials (composites) in the global steel industry will be moderate; b) the dissemination of these materials in consumer sectors will be also moderate; c) a natural trajectory of the technological development of better steel products will be reinforced. As it is a business with a wide variety of impacted materials and industries, each application will have a different maturity level. For that reason, it is considered that this technological cluster will not be widespread in all sectors, although in some cases its application will be widely employed.
LEADERS IN CUSTOMISED HANDLING SOLUTIONS
Advanced materials, and increasingly light and resistant materials, will be extensively used in industries such as energy storage, in line with the traditional technological trajectory of the steel industry. The steel industry can also benefit from the optimisation of materials combined with different applications. However, the development of new materials could completely change the way the steel industry works today. In other words, the disruptive potential of advanced materials might pose a considerable risk to the steel business. The diffusion of nanostructured materials in the global steel industry and consumers will be low-to-moderate in 2027. Regarding the first, there will be a better interaction between academia and industry. In addition, this technology will be more consolidated and there will be higher investment in R&D. The dissemination of energy storage technologies in the world steel industry will be moderate in 2027. The cost of energy storage is significantly reducing and will be considered for all manufacturing industries. Energy storage, combined with active demand management, will create a new energy buying and selling market. For residential consumption, this use will already be in an advanced stage. Business models In the perception of the Brazilian steelmakers consulted, there are no significant impacts of the analysed technological clusters on the prevailing world steel industry business models until 2027. The only likely exception is a greater possibility of disintermediation, which would tend to endanger independent distributors of steel products. If the perception proves to be correct, Industry 4.0 will help to optimise the current world steel industry’s current strengths and industrial basis, instead of revolutionising it. �
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IRON ORE
Kami’s massive benefits Michael Schwartz* reviews plans for an iron-ore mine set to generate enormous incomes for Canada’s government, provinces, workers and businesses.
ALDERON’S high-grade Kamistiatusset (Kami) Iron Ore Project is fully-permitted, shovel-ready and located in Canada’s Labrador Trough. This is one of the world’s leading regions for premium quality iron ore concentrates and pellets as well as home to a highly-skilled workforce and a wellestablished transportation infrastructure for year-round access to global markets. The November 2017 independent Economic Impact Assessment (EIA) reported that Kami’s planned construction activities and operations will yield 100,600 personyears direct, indirect and induced jobs, as well as generate $7.6 billion in income to workers and businesses. Meanwhile, at international level, there is the news that Alderon has visited China to meet HBIS Group, its strategic partner for Kami. Currently, Kami is 75% owned by Alderon and 25% by China’s HBIS Group Co Ltd (formerly Hebei Iron & Steel Group Co Ltd). HBIS is China’s second largest steel producer. The visit included meetings with Chinese engineering and equipment suppliers as well as Chinese banking institutions, thereby recognising Alderon’s focus on raising the venture’s Chinese content and, consequently, its financing. Kami is surrounded by three producing mines and is in close proximity to the Québec NorthShore & Labrador (QNS&L) railway – a common carrier railway which will connect the mine to the deep-sea port in Pointe Noire, providing year-round access to the global market. As proof of its importance, the Premiers of Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador respectively, Philippe Couillard and Dwight Ball, have signed an agreement to enhance
the Labrador Trough’s mining significance as well as its transport infrastructure. This co-operation is aimed at promoting highquality jobs, mapping the local geology and improving telecoms. Kami’s potential The Kami Project remains an attractive development prospect due to its high-grade iron ore concentrate with low impurities. The iron-ore concentrate from Kami will register 65.2% iron. In a broader context, the Platts and Metal Bulletin indices assess the price and premiums for different iron ore products; they now include a 65% premium product assessment with a significant price spread above the benchmark grade of 62% iron fines, which bears out the forecasts of greater need for cleaner iron ore. The high-iron and ultra-low deleterious element content of the Labrador Trough’s concentrates and pellets help steelmakers push their blast furnaces as they seek productivity gains and emissions reduction. As a result, the market has seen a surge in demand for premium iron ore product as steel mills strive to improve efficiency and productivity while meeting more stringent emissions requirements. There is further scope for Alderon in the Chinese context: China’s “war on pollution” and the more recent institutional support for ultra-low emission producers are giving way to the increased utilisation of highergrade, low-impurity raw materials such as the concentrates that will be produced from Alderon’s Kami Project. In addition to the financial analysis of the Kami project through a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA), an assessment
of its economic impacts on the national and provincial economies was also carried out through an independent study. The Economic Impact Assessment (EIA) predicts $5.1 billion in total revenue for federal and provincial treasuries, and the generation of C$21.3 billion in GDP. The PEA itself forecasts a life-of-mine of 24 years, with an expected yield of 187 Mt of iron-ore concentrate. Further questions relate to port and power requirements and regulatory assessment. Here, Alderon has a long-term agreement in place with the Port Authority of Sept-Îles to ship 8Mt of concentrates annually from the recently commissioned loading berth. Alderon was one of the first proposed users of the facility to contribute its share of $20.46 million towards the capital cost of the facility. One other key piece in the infrastructure puzzle is the power supply for the new mine. Alderon concluded in 2014 a power purchase agreement with the provincial utility Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro to supply the mine with the requisite power for its operations. Lastly, Alderon’s Kami Project was released from the Federal and Provincial Environmental Assessment processes in early 2014 and granted its mining and surface leases, effectively clearing the way for Alderon to start construction. With almost 50% of detailed engineering completed, the overall construction of the Kami Project is expected to take 29 months. It’s estimated pre-tax Net Present Value at 8% discount rate is US$1.377 billion and carries an internal rate of return of 25.7%, based on an average production rate of 7.8 Mt/yr of high-grade iron ore concentrate. �
* Iron ore corrrespondent September 2018
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04/09/2018 11:23:14
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CONFERENCE REPORT: STEEL SUCCESS STRATEGIES 2018
Section 232, a provision not known to many in the past, has been the topic of heated discussions in US political and industry circles since the administration of President Donald Trump imposed tariffs under that Section on steel and aluminium imports into the country. By Manik Mehta*
IT was hardly surprising that Section 232 loomed large at this year’s Steel Success Strategies conference – the 33rd edition – in New York. One of the consequences of Section 232 tariffs is that steel prices have surged upward as imports started to decline. Imports during the month of May – the Commerce Department released figures before the conference – fell by nearly 21% from April’s imports, particularly affecting items such as blooms, billets and slabs, line pipe, galvanised sheet and rebar. The May figures, in absolute terms, suggested that the US had keyed in on importing some 2.69Mt of steel products, down 14.4% from the 3.14Mt in the year-earlier period. Besides hitting the traditional ‘villain’, as many steel representatives were calling China in private conversation, President Trump’s tariff net was also cast over traditional allies such as Canada and the Europeans. However, Canada and Mexico, both partners with the US in NAFTA, (North American Free Trade Agreement) and the Europeans, were given temporary exemptions from the tariffs until 1 June. But many US steelmakers had not yet factored in the tariffs on Canadian imports into their pricing since they believed that restrictions on Canadian imports would not last long, and would be rolled back after sometime. Steel pundits, talking to Steel Times International in private conversations, felt that President Trump’s 25% tariff imposition against steel products from Canada and
“It’s a good time to b
Mexico was tactical in nature and was aimed at leveraging against the two NAFTA partners to enter into bilateral agreements. The tariffs, in other words, would have a “short life”, as one representative of a steel mill said. Canada, in particular, would “get away lightly” because many in the steel industry did not just depend on steel from that country, but also on steel-based parts and other accessories that are hardly made in the United States. In another development, German delegates told this correspondent that the European Union’s steel imports jumped 8% in Q1 2018 over the year-earlier period. Eurofer, Europe’s steel association, attributed this increase to the “first deflection of imports from the US Section 232 tariffs”. With the US tightening the screws on imports, steel overcapacity produced in some major supplying nations, particularly China, is being offloaded in other markets, including Europe. Jointly appearing on the stage, Peter F. Marcus and Philipp G. Englin, managing partner and CEO respectively at World Steel Dynamics, talked about steel’s new “age of protectionism” which they retraced to Q3 2016 reflecting the success of trade suits filed against Chinese steel mills and others elsewhere. Steel mills, consequently, in far more countries than previously assumed, are now garnering higher prices in their home market due to the lessened pressure
Peter F. Marcus and Philipp G. Englin, managing partner and CEO respectively at World Steel Dynamics, talked about steel’s new “age of protectionism” which they retraced to Q3 2016 reflecting the success of trade suits filed against Chinese steel mills and others elsewhere.
* US correspondent September 2018
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CONFERENCE REPORT: STEEL SUCCESS STRATEGIES 2018
o be making steel”
of foreign competition. The duo expected steel quality to be improved, as a result, in some sectors, such as the automobile industry. While Englin doubted if Section 232 was the best means of job creation, the tariffs under this Section are expected to have a positive impact on the US steel industry. That said, many also fear that it will adversely affect the overall business sentiment and lead to a downturn and a change in the current bullish dynamics expected in the course of time. The tariffs, according to Andrew Pappas, managing director of BMO Harris Bank and a panellist in the discussion round ‘Financial Dynamics’, had benefitted, mainly, US steelmakers, service-centres and distributors, and had strengthened the sector by adding stability to metals prices. The tariffs also aroused the interest of foreign investors in the US steelmaking industry. “We’re seeing a lot of foreign buyers coming in,” Pappas said, pointing out that the investors had strategically targeted idled steel mills, despite the unpredictability of trade policies and regulations under President Trump. Consolidation in the industry could intensify; the steel industry could benefit from increased mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity. Peter Scott, the managing partner at Headwall Partners, predicted that the M&A market in North America was strong. “We’re at the right point in the cycle, and capital is available to support growth.” www.steeltimesint.com
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But the panellists cautioned that the “good times are not going to last”. “We can’t predict what will cause the next downturn or when it will occur, but we all know it will happen,” Scott added. “The times are good right now, but steel markets are always cyclical.” Alan Price, a partner at the Washington law firm Wiley Rein LLP said that steel and aluminium purchasers in the United States who felt discriminated under the Section 232 tariffs should take the matter up with President Donald Trump, who likely would be sympathetic. Fabricators and other manufacturers who need to procure steel or aluminium have complained that Section 232 caused their costs to soar, enhancing the competitiveness of competing finished products from overseas that are not subject to tariffs. During a panel round ‘Steel Marketplace: Winning Strategies’, Price said that it was worthwhile to seek relief from the White House, and some influence might also be exerted on Capitol Hill. “The Trump trade agenda is not going away,” Price said. On the other hand, John Ferriola, the chairman, president and CEO of Nucor Corp., Charlotte, North Carolina, who presented his keynote speech as a ‘message of hope’ for the delegates, defended the Section 232 tariffs. He spoke of ‘great optimism’ attributed to current market conditions for which Nucor had made substantial investments. Of the 24 end markets Nucor supplies, Ferriola said 21 were stable or improving, increasing orders
15
and instilling a sense of optimism. He said most construction markets were good, describing the machinery and equipment sector as “particularly good.” Ferriola’s conclusion: “It’s a good time to be making steel.” While 2017 was Nucor’s best year since the 2008 downturn, Ferriola highlighted the effects of trade laws on the steel industry. “Governments around the world have called for market-driven reforms to global steel overcapacity. The inability to address this has led illegal subsidies to proliferate.” Everything was changing now: America had ‘stopped asking nicely’ and was enforcing the law, alluding to the Section 232 tariffs. While calling NAFTA a ‘success story’, Ferriola said that there was room for improvement in the pact. “We want to see this relationship (within NAFTA) to continue, but the rules of trade have changed dramatically. We are confident that we could maintain a free world trade order while making some changes in the NAFTA.” Ferriola provided glimpses of Nucor’s strategy: the company was investing in the next business cycle by moving up the value chain, acquiring complementary assets and expanding into under-served markets. He said the company was expanding its capabilities to produce more value-added products for the automotive industry, adding that Nucor saw 7% growth in auto shipments in 2017 despite the fact that North American auto production declined slightly. He also cited the benefits of diversifying its product line, adding that this move has strengthened Nucor’s ability to withstand the “highs and lows of a given industry”. After investing in DRI (direct reduced iron) production in Louisiana, Nucor is investing in two micromills that will produce rebar. One investment will be in an electric arc furnace (EAF) facility in central Florida. The other will be in a micro-mill in Sedalia, Missouri. Ferriola said these locations were desirable because they are in rebar-consuming areas, which lends transportation cost advantages. “I hope you all leave this room today feeling as strong as I do about the future of the steel industry,” Ferriola concluded. Sanjeev Gupta, the executive chairman and CEO of the London-headquartered $14.5 billion GFG Alliance, who also spoke at the conference, said that his group had September 2018
04/09/2018 11:23:47
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CONFERENCE REPORT: STEEL SUCCESS STRATEGIES 2018
taken over the Georgetown Steelworks in South Carolina from ArcelorMittal, which in effect had set the stage for his group’s US engagement. Speaking to Steel Times International, on the sidelines of the conference, Gupta appeared bullish about the US, calling it a ‘strong market’. “Our strategy Is a long-term one … there is market here and we have raw materials here,” he maintained. Steel is part of the diversified GFG Alliance. Resorting to the use of hyperbole, Gupta said that his was a steel company “on which the sun does not set”, apparently referring to the group’s global operations in Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong and Sydney and presence in many other countries. Sanjay Jayram, executive vice president (sales and marketing) at JSW Steel India, highlighted the opportunities opening up for India’s steel industry, with the country set to have 10 million cars. He added that JSW, which has acquired a steel plant in Texas, is set to become the “lowest cost, most efficiently producing steel plant” in the country. “The winner at the end of the day will be the people with the best technology, low costs and treating their workers with dignity,” he said. India’s steel industry has been upbeat about steel consumption and production because of the high level of infrastructure projects.
“Steel consumption in India has been growing between 5 and 6% in the last two years,” Jayram said. Yuriy Ryzhenkov, CEO of Ukraine’s Metinvest, in an interview with Steel Times International, described the recourse to Section 232 for imposing tariffs as a ‘strange approach’ to the US industry’s problem, and said that it looks like a “bargaining chip” to get trade concessions. “The US market is relatively small and despite the tariffs we still supply steel,” Ryzhenkov said. Indeed, Metinvest’s CEO said that his company indirectly benefited from Section 232 because pig-iron demand had increased. He also reminded delegates that HarleyDavidson, the motor-bike manufacturer, had threatened to move out of the United States because its products were becoming expensive since tariffs on US products were
“Tariffs will, invariably, affect the pricing of steel although that will not affect the efficiency of our port or the superior logistics platform we have built. We move more
imposed in a number of markets. “In my view, the US market should be left open. Section 232 is not the right means for limiting imports of steel from allies,” Ryzhenkov said. The conference also attracted quite a few companies specialising in technology and other services for the steel industry. CISDI Group Corporation of Chongqing, China, which provides engineering services, mainly, for the steel industry, is a “total solutions provider”, as Can Xu, the project manager put it. In an interview, Xu provided some insights into China’s steel sector whose over-capacity has been severely criticised not only in the US, but also other parts of the world. “During the last 15 years, China’s steel industry has grown rapidly from 100Mt at the start of the century to some 800Mt today. Since then, China has been using
Yuriy Ryzhenkov, CEO of Ukraine’s Metinvest, described the recourse to Section
steel into Mexico than any other port. Despite the apprehensions and doubts of many, we
232 for imposing tariffs as a ‘strange
are going to see more traffic and not less,” says Steve Tyndal, PoB’s senior director for
approach’ to the US industry’s problem, and
business development
said that it looks like a “bargaining chip” to get trade concessions.
September 2018
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www.steeltimesint.com
04/09/2018 11:23:50
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CONFERENCE REPORT: STEEL SUCCESS STRATEGIES 2018
new equipment and building plants. We have helped build many modern, sophisticated plants. Our newest project is Bao Steel in Zhang Jiang along China’s southern coast, which is something of an icon of the nation’s steel industry. Bao Steel’s blast furnaces have been designed by us. We have also designed the TATA Steel plant in Kalingnagar, some 400km south of Jamshedpur. We specialise in constructing blast furnaces for steel companies,” he said. Xu tried to dispel the notion that the Chinese used antiquated equipment, saying that Chinese machinery and production tools were more modern than even those used by some US companies, which had shown a keen interest in CISDI’s equipment “though we do not supply everything but know suppliers in China and are able to get the best products for our clients”. Xu tried to put “things in perspective” about China’s environmental problems. The Chinese Government, he said, had shut down 200Mt of capacity of small and medium-sized enterprises because of environmental considerations. “This also opens up opportunities for modernisation of steel plants. It helps reduce costs,” he said. Stephen Montague, president and CEO of Midrex Technologies, Inc. of Charlotte, North Carolina, said that there was reason for optimism in the steel industry. “We now see renewed confidence in the steel industry unlike in the past,” he said. Midrex, which specialises in direct reduction ironmaking (DRI), has obviously benefited from the growth in the industry’s DRI operations. “There was a major recovery in DR products which surged 20% to 87Mt. Many companies, which had deferred investment, started to invest after the economic upswing,” he said. Bright future for DRI Montague said that Midrex, which operates in 22 countries, saw a “bright future” for the DRI segment. “Energy prices have fallen. Steel products are trending to higher quality, and when the quality of steel improves, there will be demand for Midrex products. Another factor that favoured Midrex was the environmental factor because of the lower emissions attributed to the DRI production route.” Montague added that some 70% of steel produced in the US is through the DRI process while 30% is through the blast-furnace process. Midrex is building September 2018
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two new plants in Algeria in Oran and Jijel. The company has just finished a project in Gubkin, Russia, and is also doing a project in Cliffs, Ohio, and another for Voestalpine in Corpus Christi, Texas. Artificial intelligence The conference highlighted artificial intelligence deployed in the steel industry. Noodles.ai, an AI provider to companies across the metals value chain, seemed to arouse the curiosity of the delegates. Stephen Pratt, CEO of Noodle.ai, told Steel Times International: “AI is not just a service, it is a product. AI can enhance the quality and productivity, safety, etc. AI can provide, for example, a pretty accurate prediction of energy consumption in the steel industry. We use a mass amount of data to predict demand and business in consumer products. Our breakthrough is that these techniques were not possible as far back as
five years,” he noted, adding that abundant data, high-performing computers and mathematics were the key factors involved in such forecasting techniques. “AI can change the world economy. Any company that does not use AI will not be able to compete. AI’s forte is its versatility. It works best with supercomputing. We have the fastest super computer on our premises. This is a very exciting time in technology business,” Pratt said, claiming that his company’s products were widely. Alluding to the ongoing steel tariffs, Pratt said that artificial intelligence would help the steel industry increase its competitiveness. The steel industry need not rely on imposing tariffs but, instead, should improve its productivity. “I don’t think that tariffs are going to be permanent. We are excited to work with the steel industry because it has a lot of data,” he said. There was also a lot of talk at the conference about digitalisation. John Schroeder, ABB Ability Collaborative Operations Manager for Process Industries
at ABB Inc. USA, maintained that digitalisation had made a headway in other arenas. “In steel, we need to think big. The objective is to get knowledge from data. We need expertise in automation, production techniques, etc. Artificial intelligence will have a profound impact on maintenance … it is about optimising production and about optimal costs,” Schroeder explained. Tom Franklin, industry advisor and director (Energy & Resources Centre of Excellence) at Tata Consultancy Services, using clips from a show depicting a female robot who talked and narrated jokes, stressed the importance of resilience and adaptability in order to keep pace with the changes taking place. Many companies interpret mistakes as ‘failure’. “In fact, if you are making mistakes, you are learning,” was his advice. Aside from the technology-related companies, the conference also attracted others who were involved in the steel business indirectly – such as the Port of Brownsville (PoB) which relies heavily on steel shipping and is the key point of sea trade with neighbouring Mexico. PoB’s interest has been further aroused with plans by Arkansas-based Big River Steel to set up a $1.6 billion steel mill on PoB’s land. PoB and BRS signed an option agreement covering up to 800 acres of property enabling the steelmaker to continue its due diligence pursuant to the company’s interest in developing a steel manufacturing plant, storage and distribution facility. PoB, the only deep-water seaport located on the US-Mexico border, and the largest land-owning public port authority in the nation with 40,000 acres of land, transships more steel to Mexico than any other US port. Since steel is the mainstay of its cargo traffic, PoB is also closely monitoring the ongoing national debate on steel and aluminum tariffs on imports. “Tariffs will, invariably, affect the pricing of steel although that will not affect the efficiency of our port or the superior logistics platform we have built. We move more steel into Mexico than any other port. Despite the apprehensions and doubts of many, we are going to see more traffic and not less,” Steve Tyndal, PoB’s senior director for business development, said, adding that “new avenues of opportunities” would open up. � www.steeltimesint.com
04/09/2018 11:23:50
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ROLLING
The US flat roll market While it has softened slightly recently, the US carbon flat roll market has been very strong during the first half of 2018. Most industry observers are optimistic that this strength will be sustained despite concerns of certain possible unintended consequences from the recent Section 232 trade action. Myra Pinkham* reports OVERALL US demand for flat-rolled sheet is expected to move up about 3% this year followed by a similar, but possibly slightly lower, increase in 2019, forecasts John Anton, associate director of IHS Markit’s pricing and purchasing service. Anton says that increase, however, is slightly higher than actual market dynamics would indicate, attributing at least some of the strength to a ‘sugar high’ from certain governmental policies, specifically the business tax cuts that were part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act tax reform bill passed late last year. Philip K Bell, president of the Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA), agrees that this has contributed to stronger markets for both steelmakers and their customers, with companies not only using the money that they are saving to bolster their bottom lines, but also to invest in their people, their processes and their equipment. This has definitely been the case when combined with recent regulatory reforms. “Removing some business constraints by the way of regulatory rollback has freed up businesses to perform in a more efficient manner,” Richard Chriss, executive director of American Institute for International Steel (AIIS), points out. Anton, however, does not believe that current growth rates are sustainable in the long term. “I am not expecting to see a crash, but not a lot of growth – less than 2% – in 2020 and beyond,” he says. Jeff Simons, president and chief executive officer of O’Neal Flat Rolled Metals, says he is hearing a similar story from his customers. “It isn’t that they expect to be putting their foot on the brake, but rather
they might be pulling the gas pedal back a little as opposed to putting the pedal to the floor as they had been doing during the first half of this year,” he said. Clearly the underlying demand for flat roll continues to be strong. In fact, Zachary Siegal, vice president of Strategic Development at Olympic Steel Inc, says there has been fairly robust across-theboard demand thus far this year and voiced optimism that there will continue to be healthy demand at least through next year, not just because the US economy is currently quite strong, but because this is following a number of years of much more mediocre GDP growth and of governmental policies that were less conducive of capital investment. “In fact, we have hardly seen a summer slowdown this year,” he points out. While some business indicators have slipped somewhat recently, there continues to be broad-based optimism of strong domestic flat rolled steel consumption. Bell points out that while the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index has moved down in recent months, as of July it remained at 58.1%, a level that he termed as being ‘excellent’ given that any reading of over 50% indicates that the manufacturing economy is expanding. It is a similar story for the American Institute of Architects (AIA)’s July architecture billings index, which while down from the previous month remained positive for the 10th consecutive month at 50.7 points. In addition, he observes that a recent survey conducted by the National Association of Manufacturers indicated that a larger percentage of OEMs were optimistic about the future than anytime
since the NAM had conducted similar surveys over the past 20 years. This is despite the general perception that the automotive sector, which, according
* US correspondent September 2018
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to Thomas A. Danjczek, a consultant with Headwall Partners, accounts for about 25% of all steel demand and about 45% of US flat rolled steel use, has peaked. After reaching an all-time record of 17.9 million vehicles in 2016, North American light vehicle production fell to about 4.2% to slightly above 17 million light vehicles last year, which was still a very high level historically speaking. While the production rate slipped slightly during the first half of this year to an annualised rate of about 16.8 million units, Marina Maliushkini, a
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senior analyst with Metal Bulletin Research says that given forecasts that auto output could gain momentum in the second half, it is possible that for the full year North American auto output could be up as much as 2% to about 17.3 million vehicles. Even if it remains flat year-on-year, flat rolled will likely get a lift with the growing proportion of those sales being for light trucks, which are larger and, therefore, consume more steel than passenger cars at a time when, according to Chris Billman, research manager of Majestic Steel and author of the service centre’s CORE research report, lighter weight third generation advanced high strength steels have begun to come into the market and aluminium competition, which has already appeared
21
to have peaked, could ease further if, as anticipated, the Trump administration freezes or scales back Obama era fuel efficiency regulations. Construction is another area of strong domestic flat rolled steel demand, Billman says. He says this comes as housing starts are up 8% year-on-year, which is not just positive for residential construction itself, but for certain downstream products such as appliances. According to the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, domestic shipments of major home appliances were up 2.8% year-on-year in July. Also, according to the AIA’s latest consensus forecast, US non-residential construction is expected to increase by 4.7% in 2018 and by another 4.0% in 2019. Also, this year’s strength in the energy sector has been supportive of demand for hot rolled coil (HRC), which is used in welded pipe and tube products. US drilling activity is up about 11% year-on-year. As result, US oil country tubular goods (OCTG) consumption was up 39.6% in H1 2018 versus the first six months of 2017, according to Christopher Plummer, managing director of Metal Strategies Inc, West Chester, Pa. This came as West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices moved back up to $65-$75/barrel, a range where they are expected to remain, at least in the nearto medium-term. But despite this, overall domestic flat rolled sheet shipments have been virtually flat in the first half of 2018 when compared with a year ago, rising only 0.2%, according the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). They were held down by hot rolled sheet shipments, which were down 3.4% year-todate through June, partly due to a 23.6% pre-Section 232 tariff rise in imports. Hot rolled imports, however, dropped 26.6% month-on-month in June, the month that Section 232 tariffs and quotas took effect and, based upon Commerce Department import license data, were estimated to be down 7.0% year-on-year in July. It was, however, a different story for cold rolled sheet, where domestic shipments increased 2.4% and imports fell 19.6% year-to-date through June and 25.9% yearon-year in July. Domestic galvanised sheet shipments only fell 0.1% on a 12% drop-off in imports during the first half. Hot dipped galvanised sheet import licenses were down September 2018
04/09/2018 16:25:23
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ROLLING
The possible unintended consequences of Section 232 need to be put into perspective, Bell says.
“You hear about the doom and gloom. You hear about the potential for a trade war. But I think we have already been in a trade war for years. For decades the United States has tried to deal with global steel overcapacity, state ownership and subsidisation. We’ve spent millions of dollars on anti-dumping and countervailing duty cases, but even when we win
”he explains.
another bad actor emerges or companies cheat through transshipment and circumvention,
20.6% year-on-year in July. Nevertheless, domestic flat rolled steelmakers are largely running flat out, Danjczek points out – at low- to mid-90% capacity utilisation versus an average of about 79% overall for the US steel industry, which itself is up from about 75% a year ago. In addition to the recent decline of imports that has been attributed both to Section 232 and other trade action – both traditional anti-dumping/countervailing duty trade cases and a cold rolled and coated sheet circumvention case against imports from Vietnam – Danjczek notes that there has been little new flat roll capacity added domestically. While US Steel recently restarted one blast furnace and plans to restart a second in October at its Granite City mill in Illinois, Danjczek says that given that the steelmaker’s Gary Works in Indiana isn’t producing what it once had and with a temporary outage at its Great Lakes Works, it could be said that the restarted capacity at Granite City will simply be used as a replacement for that at its other facilities. Also, while JSW Steel (USA) is expected to restart the electric arc furnace (EAF) at its Mingo Junction, Ohio, mill (the former Wheeling-Pittsburgh mill), which had been September 2018
Rolling Myra.indd 3
idled since 2009, possibly in September, Danjczek played that down, stating that that facility doesn’t produce enough hot roll to affect the market. In addition, Simons says with that EAF down as long as it has been, there are questions about the quality of the steel it would be able to produce. Big River Steel LLC of Osceola, Arkansas, is currently fully ramped up on Phase 1 and has announced plans to double its hot roll production capacity to 3.3Mt/ yr, possibly by 2020, as well as possibly starting to produce grain-oriented steel products. While there has been speculation that Big River might build a second mill in Brownsville, Texas, on land it has an option on or that it could be acquired by another steelmaker, possibly Nucor, Steel Dynamics (SDI) or Posco, the company would not comment on any of these rumours. SDI has announced plans to build a new galvanising line in Columbus, Mississippi, and to possibly add a meltshop to feed its newly acquired Heartland Steel facility in Terre Haute, Indiana, and Nucor is planning to build a galvanising line at its sheet mill in Arkansas to complement its new speciality cold mill complex there. While there is no question that Section
232 has been in many ways very supportive of the US flat roll market, its future impact remains somewhat unknown. “It has created a certain amount of chaos and uncertainty that has caused dramatic responses in the supply chain,” Simons observes, including resulting in some suppliers that had previously been counting on foreign substrate to hold off until they know what they are dealing with. But even though flat roll supply has tightened somewhat with the decline in imports, SMA’s Bell maintains that everyone – both mills and service centres – are still able to meet their customers’ requirements. Clearly, at least to date, it has been supportive to domestic flat rolled mill profitability, MBR’s Maliushkina say, pointing out that HRC prices moved up about 33%, peaking at about $916/ton in July and US steelmaker profit margins are currently the highest they have been since May 2008. “Prices, however, overshot and are now starting to come down somewhat,” and will likely fall further, according to IHS Markit’s Anton. One reason is that imports are likely to start picking up again late this year given that at current pricing levels they are still a bargain even with a 25% tariff added on. www.steeltimesint.com
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Already HRC has moved down to $866/ ton. Anton says they could fall below $850/ ton in the first quarter and tumble further to about $750/ton in the second quarter before reaching an equilibrium at that level. All the potential moving parts of Section 232, including uncertainty about how long the tariffs stay in place, are concerning. In fact, the AIIS filed a lawsuit late in June maintaining that Section 232 is unconstitutional. Chriss explains that it is the trade group’s belief that through Section 232 Congress abdicated its constitutional responsibility to make laws to President Trump since there is no intelligible principle for Congress to provide guidance to the President about how Section 232 should be implemented. “Therefore, the president can do whatever he wants to protect the domestic steel industry under the banner of national security, which has been expanded to include the entire economy,” Chriss says, adding that the lawsuit also contends that Congress has no meaningful check upon what the president can do through Section 232. “Because
of this we argue that it is a violation to the separation of powers in the US Constitution.” Thomas J. Gibson, AISI’s president and chief executive officer, however, questions the merit of this legal action, maintaining, “Congress acted within its constitutional authority when it authorised the president to take action to adjust imports when the Secretary of Commerce has determined that such imports threaten to impair the national security.” Unintended consequences The possible unintended consequences of Section 232 need to be put into perspective, Bell says. “You hear about the doom and gloom. You hear about the potential for a trade war. But I think we have already been in a trade war for years. For decades the United States has tried to deal with global steel overcapacity, state ownership and subsidisation. We’ve spent millions of dollars on anti-dumping and countervailing duty cases, but even when we win another bad actor emerges or
companies cheat through transshipment and circumvention,” he explains. There is also a lot of uncertainty related to Section 232, Olympic Steel’s Siegal points out. “It is subject to change at any moment, just as we saw when President Trump doubled Turkish tariffs. It is also unknown what will happen with imports from the European Union, Canada and Mexico. But it isn’t that you can’t get steel. It is a question of what you have to pay for it.” He says that there is some risk that it could affect consumer buying, “But I don’t think that the US economy will decline, at least not in the short term. “As chaotic, demanding and challenging as the flat roll market has been, 2018 has been a good year, and while demand might not accelerate much from current levels, I don’t think it will fall off,” says Tony Hammes, O’Neal Flat Rolled Metals’ vice president of supply chain said. Anton agrees, stating that 2019 should be another good year as long as the government’s policies don’t change and as long as the Section 232 tariffs remain in force. �
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27
Live rolling mill contracts From so-called ‘green’ minimills in the Netherlands to thermo-mechanical rolling in China, OEMs have global reach and are busy helping steelmakers increase capacity and reach new markets
ArcelorMittal is to resume an expansion project at its Vega facility in Sao Francisco do Sul, Brazil
DAVIDE Romagnani of the FIOM union in Italy claims that the restarting of production at long steel producer Aferpi is an ‘historical moment’ for the company. According to an online report by Platts, the company, based in Piombino on the border between the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian seas, was set to restart operations under new owner JSW, an Indian steelmaker. Romagnani described JSW as a ‘serious international company’ and said that Aferpi will start with its core business (rail production) and then set about restarting other mills. The aim, of course, is to regain market share in all sectors from rail to automotive. Rail production restarted on 24 August, according to Platts, and other lines of bars and rod will be restarted by mid-October. From JSW’s perspective the plan is simple: for H2 2018, Aferpi’s 600kt/yr plant will produce 57kt of rod and 50kt of bars (against a design capacity of 300kt/yr). It hopes to produce 75kt of rails (against a designed capacity of 350kt/yr). The Aferpi plant was bought by JSW from Cevital of Algeria at the end of July this year, giving the Indian steelmaker access to Italian and European markets, claims Platts. www.steeltimesint.com
Rolling Matt.indd 1
JSW had tried to acquire Ilva, a large, Italian flats producer, but lost out to ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steelmaker. Other plans for Aferpi include the installation of two new EAFs to produce semis for longs and flats production, claims Platts, and possibly a third EAF if the market demands it. (Source: S&P Global). Big plans for Toranagallu JSW’s rolling mill in Toranagallu in the Southern Indian state of Karnataka, has awarded SMS Concast an order for a 5-6 strand high speed billet caster, which is part of a bigger expansion plan with one key objective: to increase productivity. The plant consists of a 160-ton EAF, ladle furnace, billet caster and rolling mills and, according to SMS Concast, the aim is to increase production to 1.5Mt following the installation of the billet caster. SMS group has been fairly busy on the rolling mill front and, generally speaking, claims that its financial situation is ‘sound’. Orders over the past business year, it says, have increased from 2.68 million Euros to 2.88 million despite sales being lower than in the previous year, dipping from 3.05 million Euros to 2.88 million.
In China, Lianxin Steel and Shandong Laigang Yongfeng Steel have employed what SMS group calls ‘thermomechanical rolling’, where final reduction is carried out within a defined temperature range leading, claims SMS group, to specific properties of the rolled stock. “Thus, sufficient capacity for cooling and equalisation has to be provided for in the plant design,” says the company. According to SMS group, the lower rolling temperatures – 750 C to 820 C – require higher rolling forces and consequently wire rod blocks capable of sustaining very high loads. “Under these rolling conditions, grain sizes that in conventional rolling would typically range between ASTM 8 and 10, can be improved to ASTM 12,” SMS group explained. Lianxin Steel is to employ the process at its Dafeng site. The plant will be designed for an annual production of 1Mt of rebar with diameters ranging between 8mm and 40mm at a maximum rolling speed of 45m/ second. Shandong Laigang Yongfeng will utilise the process at its Dezhou site as part of a capacity conversion programme using an EAF-based production route to replace the plant’s existing facilities. Like Lianxin’s September 2018
04/09/2018 11:25:04
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Mexican steelmaker Tyasa has
marketplace. “We currently have a market to sell Vega’s products above the existing capacity. We could be selling more,” said Filho.
ordered a cold rolling mill from Primetals
Dafeng site, Dezhou will be designed for a 1Mt/yr production rate of rebar in diameters ranging from 8mm to 32mm and this includes straight bars with diameters ranging from 8mm to 25mm to be rolled at a maximum speed of 45m/sec and barin-coil in diameters ranging from 8mm to 32mm to be rolled at a maximum speed of 35m/sec. Digitalisation a high point SMS group believes that digitalisation has been the high point of its recent development, citing work with USAbased Big River Steel (BRS) in Osceola, Arkansas, as a major achievement. BRS’s ‘learning mill’ concept, said SMS, fulfilled all expectations and confirmation was recently received from BRS for phase two expansion. A profile of Big River Steel and an exclusive interview with Dave Stickler, the company’s CEO, can be found in Steel Times International’s November-December 2017 issue. Recent major rolling mill contracts for SMS group include the modernisation of ArcelorMittal’s strip mill in Bremen, Germany, with the aim of improving hot strip tolerances; and Russian steelmaker Severstal’s modernisation of the exit section of its tandem cold mill 2100 at the company’s Cherepovets facility in North Western Russia. The plan in Russia is to carry out the modernisation during a scheduled downtime of just 23 days. Commissioning of the tandem cold mill, complete with new exit-side installations, is scheduled to take place next summer (2019).
US$330 million investment that will see the construction of a new continuous annealing line and a third galvanising line for the production of cold rolled and galvanised products. The plant will increase its annual production capacity by 700kt/yr, bringing the total to 2.1Mt/yr. Production is expected to begin in 2021. According to ArcelorMittal, the project will increase production for the automotive, construction and home appliances sectors at the Vega unit, ‘allowing the company to meet the market expectations and provide high strength and quality steel products’. Benjamin Baptista Filho, president of ArcelorMittal Brazil and CEO of ArcelorMittal Flat Carbon South America, said: “We expect the automotive industry to have a substantial increase in the utilisation. At the outset of the crisis, automakers were practically operating to serve the Brazilian and Argentinian markets only. The crisis forced automakers to develop alternative markets.” The global crisis of 2009, the Brazilian recession and the reduction of Brazil’s domestic market for vehicles, forced ArcelorMittal to put thoughts of expansion at Vega on hold until 2011. Today, it is claimed that 50% of the plant’s production today is aimed at the automotive
Kamran Steel expansion Primetals Technologies has been equally busy on the rolling front. Rebar steel producer Kamran Steel Re-Rolling Mills of Pakistan recently placed an order with the company to modernise an existing rebar mill in Lahore. According to Primetals, the modernisation programme spans three phases. Phase one involves increasing rebar production capacity to 150kt/yr, increase yield, reduce energy consumption and improve rolling efficiency. Hot commissioning is scheduled for Q3 2019 and the equipment being supplied is designed for future phase three requirements. Kamran Steel operates a fully automatic rolling mill with an hourly production capacity of up to 25 tonnes/hr – which equates to an annual production of 100kt (metric tonnes). The plant currently processes carbon steel billets with a square cross-section of 100mm x100mm. Finished rebar products boast diameters ranging from 9.5mm to 40mm. After modernisation, the rebar mill be will be capable of rolling up to 30 metric tons of steel bar per hour, claims Primetals. Earlier in the year, Hyundai Steel of Incheon and Seoul, South Korea, issued final acceptance certificates for two long rolling mills at the steelmaker’s Dangjin special steel production facility. The plant’s large bar mill has a 1Mt/yr capacity and provides billets for further processing in a small bar and wire rod mill with an 800kt/ yr capacity. A breakdown and intermediate mill feeds a third-party supplied sizing block for bar production, a rod outlet and a bar-in-coil outlet. Designed to roll 160
Hyundai Steel has issued FACs for two long rolling mills from Primetals
ArcelorMittal expands Vega In Brazil, ArcelorMittal is to resume an expansion project at its Vega facility in Sao Francisco do Sul in the state of Santa Catarina. The steelmaker is planning a September 2018
Rolling Matt.indd 2
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04/09/2018 11:25:08
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ROLLING
Kamran Steel of Pakistan has contracted Primetals to modernise an existing rebar mill in Lahore
tons/hr, the small bar and rod mill will have the highest production rate for a combination mill and is designed specifically for low-temperature rolling. All of this improves the metallurgical structure and mechanical properties of end products and enhances flexibility during rolling. High product quality throughout the plant, claims Primetals, is achieved by a special mechatronics system and an integrated automation solution. Hyundai Steel, part of the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group, runs six production facilities in South Korea and one in China. Going forward, the Danjin plant will produce bar and wire as a primary metal for engine and gearbox parts. Annual production of 400kt of wire rod and 600kt of straight bar and bar-in-coil is planned. In order to extend its product portfolio to include flat products, Mexican steelmaker Tyasa ordered a cold rolling mill from Primetals. The new mill was designed for an annual production of 200kt (metric tons) of low carbon and high-strength steel grades. The plant took 21 months to install from start to finish, claims Primetals, and went into operation in January this year. The new mill is designed as a single stand four-high mill and can handle a wide range of end products. It is particularly suitable for small batches, claims Primetals. “The process equipment and technology packages not only maintain tight flatness and thickness tolerances, but also ensure a good quality surface,” claims Primetals, adding that the mill’s compact design minimises out-of-tolerance strip thickness. Rolling contracts for Fives Group In Taiwan, Fuxin Special Steel has contracted Fives for coil preparation lines and cold rolling mills for stainless steel production in the Fujian province of China. Fuxin Special Steel is expanding its September 2018
Rolling Matt.indd 3
cold rolling workshop to produce added value final products and has chosen Fives to design, manufacture, supply and commission two coil preparation lines (CPL) and three DMS 20Hi cold rolling mills (CRM), each with 110kt/yr capacity. The two CPLs aim to make the most of the rolling mills and optimise productivity by removing hot strip tail ends, trimming crack formations and applying leader strips. According to Fives, the cold rolling mills are essential to reduce strip thickness while guaranteeing strip surface quality. The French company will supply the newest generation of DMS 20Hi CRM with the latest improvements: advanced roll gap lubrication and strip cooling technology, an improved flatness control system, enhanced safety, and easier maintenance. Strip surface quality is improved thanks to the optimised lubrication of roll bite. In China, Wisdri (Xinyu) Cold Processing Engineering, a joint venture between WISDRI and Xinyu Iron & Steel, contracted Fives to design and supply a unique cold rolling mill to process non-grain oriented (NGO) silicon steel, mainly for the automotive industry. Electrical steel is a special steel tailored to produce specific magnetic properties, resulting in low power loss per cycle, low core loss, and high
permeability. It is extremely sensitive to produce. For this project, Fives will design, manufacture and supply a DMS 20Hi cold rolling mill with an annual capacity of 100kt to process NGO high grade 210. The mill is intended for a very demanding application: electric car motors that require extremely high quality. The lead time for the project is very short: the first coil is to be processed by the end of 2019. The coil preparation lines, as well as CRM auxiliary equipment, will be fabricated in China by Fives’ subsidiary in Shanghai, while the critical parts of the cold rolling mills will be designed and manufactured in the Fives workshop in Lille, France. Fives has specialised in cold rolling mill design and manufacturing for stainless and silicon steels for over 60 years, and has supplied more than 100 cold rolling mills and processing lines worldwide. High-speed rebar mill In Taiwan, Feng Hsin Steel recently released a final acceptance certificate for a new high speed rebar mill capable of producing 745kt/yr of quality rebar from 10mm to 36mm. Italian plant builder Danieli supplied the electrical and automation systems for the plant, including 2-strand slitting technology with a finishing speed of 40 metres per second. The mill is directly linked to a four-strand Danieli caster, which was supplied in 2014, through a Danieli Automation Q-Heat induction heater to equalise/increase billet temperature before rolling. Eighteen SHS+ housingless stands are followed by two four-passes modular fast finishing blocks fitted with a M2 multiple drive system, a 102m long cooling bed and finishing facilities. Danieli’s 900kt/yr green mill Danieli is also involved in a 900kt/yr green
TC Titanium has placed an order with KOCKS
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steel minimill operated by Van Merksteijn International, designed to produce wire rod ranging in diameter from 5.5mm to 20mm. According to Danieli, the meltshop is designed to produce 1Mt/yr and will be equipped with a 100-tonne electric arc furnace fed by an ECS endless scrap charging system, ladle furnace, fume treatment plant and a 3-strand billet conticaster with provision for a fourth strand to increase production to 1.2Mt The plant, which will start production in 2020, will occupy an area of 50 hectares at the sea port of Eemshaven in the northern Netherlands. Danieli claims that the new plant will enable Van Merksteijn to ‘verticalise’ its production chain and thereby increase the value of its overall wire product line. Kocks wins Chinese contract Chinese titanium manufacturer Tian Cheng Titanium Industry has placed an order with Friedrich KOCKS of Hilden, Germany, for a reducing and sizing block (RSB) in 5.0 design. Founded in 2007 TC Titanium specialises
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in titanium products for the global aviation, chemical, and energy industries. KOCKS’ new RSB 5.0 produces titanium bars and bar-in-coil within a dimension range of 13mm to 100mm. This latest milestone in KOCKS’ reducing and sizing
technology enables TC Titanium to considerably expand its product range and fulfil the highest quality requirements expected by the aviation industry. Commissioning is scheduled for the beginning of 2019. �
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INDUSTRY 4.0
The digital transformation of steel The digitalisation of the steel value chain could lead to a productivity revolution in steel making, argues Nils Naujok* and Holger Stamm** THE global steel industry is the critical backbone of the industrialised value chain. As an essential base material for significant sectors such as automotive and aerospace, it is a centrepiece of innovation and economic growth. However, despite steel’s importance for the industry today, uncertainty seems to be the only certainty. With high efforts the sector has recovered from the aftermath of the last decade’s recession, when the number of new construction projects worldwide decreased significantly and investments in infrastructure and machinery plummeted. Besides, to manage volatile demands, companies have to contend with increasingly stringent environmental regulations, volatility in raw materials and steel prices, and greater competition from producers in developing economies such as China. And if that were not challenging enough, in times of increasing protectionism in the US with planned tariffs on imports of steel, the global steel market is bracing for disruption. Beyond the macroeconomic forces, the steel industry is facing a raft of external challenges. Companies are compelled to transform their operations to satisfy calls for ever stronger and more durable steel, a more diversified and specialised portfolio
of products and grades, and shorter innovation cycles, which enable enhanced flexibility in mill capacity and prioritise reliable delivery and service to downstream partners or customers. These disruptions will catalyse the digital revolution in the steel industry. In the past years the steel industry has successfully implemented first digital solutions and use cases, such as data analytics, to steer the furnace or predictive maintenance solutions in the rolling mills. The challenge now is to further develop the digital strategy and to convert these use cases into digital business models. The results of our CEO survey in 2017 indicate in metals that CEOs expect nothing more than a burst of growth: in their estimate digital business models could lead to a 2.9% growth per annum in revenue and offer a significant potential of 3.6% per annum in cost reduction and performance improvements. Combining the already existing use cases, the digitalisation of the steel value chain could lead to a productivity revolution in steel making. Productivity could be increased in an end-to-end approach from supplier to customer by using data integration, track and trace solutions, sensors for steel making and casting, flexible steel processing and additive
manufacturing. The integrated steel value chain provides significant performance improvements and cost reduction and is a prerequisite for digital business models. Digital business models can be split into the dimensions of a digital product portfolio, digital service offerings and digital go-to-market. Digital product portfolio means the digitalisation of the “physical” product with value added through new and improved product characteristics (quality information of the coil).This provides new options for the steel producer to engage with the customers around the physical product. To create a digital service offering the steel companies have to expand their existing product portfolio with new digital services such as in product development, design and quality management. A digital go-to-market approach transforms the customer interface and customer experience. This could lead to increased performance through higher customer integration as well as customised customer communication and sales approaches. In the future these new steel business models will have a significant impact on the integrated steel value chain and will lead to virtual and agile production networks from supplier to customer. Steel companies as key
* Partner, PwC Strategy& Deutschland. **Director, PwC Strategy& Deutschland September 2018
Industry 4.9 pwc.indd 1
www.steeltimesint.com
04/09/2018 11:25:47
Eradicate inclusion problems in steel The comprehensive OES inclusion analysis solution: ARL iSpark with Spark-DAT Software Suite For many steel grades, controlling non-metallic inclusions is crucial for the smooth running of production process, and to guarantee targeted steel properties. The Thermo Scientific™ ARL iSpark™ OES Metals Analyzer performs inclusion analysis simultaneously with elemental analysis, enabling real-time control of inclusions for hundreds of samples analyzed every day in a steel production. The Spark-DAT Software Suite includes all the on- and off-line software modules and features needed for inclusion analysis, analytical method development and set-up, as well as in-depth investigation, control and reporting of inclusions. The ARL iSpark with Spark-DAT Software Suite is the perfect solution to prevent cost and quality problems caused by inclusions.
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INDUSTRY 4.0
Raw Materials Recycling
Steel production
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Use autonomous trucks and drones for Get real time access to data and digitally enable workers internal transport [drones can already lift 1 ton today] with augmented reality hardware & software
Track and trace and control of the material flow of individual steel staffs or coils with RFID
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End customer
E2E process and data integration up to the Data mining for remote control of critical processes customer and end customer product as well as multifactorial process and cyber security control, sequencing and planning
Forging
Raw materials BOF Casting Scrap metal Integrated temperature management across the whole production process through sensors
EAF Decentral production planning based on software agents
Hot or cold rolling
Flexible production adjustment based on real time cutomer data
Surface refinement
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3D print and additive manufacturing for rapid prototyping and production of components, tools, molds
Customer satisfaction through reduction of rework through dynamic adjustments of steel product requirements based on actual data
Logistics and transport Planning and maintenance drivers of these networks will play a crucial role in building up digital ecosystems. The end-to-end integration creates transparency along the whole network based on the real-time data exchange with partners. The further development of digital products, services and a new customer experience on these digital platforms is leading to a new ecosystem for steel. Looking forward into 2025 the integrated steel value chain and the role of the steel industry could be described by three models:1. Supplier in a digital ecosystem – applying the business model of the big internet platforms like Amazon to the steel industry will create an ecosystem that consolidates and centralises sales, distribution, and planning for various steel producers. 2. Digital system supplier – applying the business model of the new integrated companies for electric cars for the steel industry will increase the integration
Industry 4.9 pwc.indd 2
into the customer industry supporting the customer with design, development, production planning, and component production. 3. Digital network supplier – applying the business model of internet platforms in the steel industry – will create a virtual and digital network of partnerships in production, development and sales. A steel company can combine elements of these three models depending on their product and customer segments. For example, a producer of higher grade steels for the automotive industry could act as digital system supplier. They will have a close integration into the value creation of their customers, providing a platform for tool producers, steel producers and car construction. These platforms will allow an integrated part and process design with the full transparency of the value chain. As a result, the steel company can extend the forward integration up to the production
of pre-finished parts. For the OEM this has significant benefits: reducing waste (ramp up parts), quality costs and lead times. The steel industry has to manage the digital transformation and the digitalisation of the integrated value chain. A guiding principle for this transformation is that each steel company has to start with the big picture about its role in the value chain and the relevant digital business models for their segments. To identify the best business model the steel industry has to take the perspective of its customers and has to be prepared to fail – and win by experience. The best way to create and develop new business models is to collaborate with partners e.g. customers, other suppliers and technology companies. Finally, digital may be a buzzword or a hype at the moment, nevertheless it has to be anchored in the DNA of the steel industry as well as in the governance and culture of each steel company. The steel sector is embarking on a digital journey, the companies should take a minute to think about the route, their luggage and their fellow travellers. �
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FURNACES
Improving furnace performance This article will discuss three vastly different projects where steelmakers were seeking better performances from their EAFs and achieved their objectives by implementing Primetals’ injection technology and knowhow. It will also examine the challenges presented by injection technology and offer guidance on how to overcome them during implementation. How does injection technology enhance the flexibility of the EAF? By Denis Vaillancourt*, Hannes Beile** and Joerg Buttler***
REFINING Combined Burner (RCB) technology was developed by Primetals Technologies to simplify the installation and operation of the equipment necessary for the operation of an electric arc furnace (EAF). The RCB operates in various modes to fulfil preheating/burner functions as well as the oxygen injection function. Due to multiple arrangements distributed around the furnace, the energy input to the heat will be balanced; the oxygen efficiency can be increased; yield and productivity too by reducing the consumption figures of the EAF. RCB equipment is installed on the side wall of the furnace and can be mounted on a flat panel or traditional nose panel depending on the size and requirements of the EAF. Flat RCB panels improve burner mode and injection operation and are installed close to the steel bath. The system can be combined with an effective carbon
injection and lime injection system to optimise slag foaming. The RCB system is designed to guarantee reliable operation with low maintenance requirements and low cost. The hardware RCB nose panel RCB nose panels are located above the split line of the furnace and are fixed to the side wall panel. The water-cooled nose panel is designed to guarantee an effective heat transfer to the cooling water and withstand the high heat load inside the furnace. Fixing the nose panel to the side wall panel guarantees a tight seal between panel and nose panel and allows an easy and safe assembly and disassembly of the equipment from outside of the furnace. The front plate of the nose panel can be equipped with a
Fig 1. Typical: RCB nose panel (including holder for carbon lance)
thermocouple to detect blow back and prevent nose panel damage. Typical: RCB Nose Panel (incl. holder for carbon lance) (Fig 1). EBT burner panel The RCB panel is located and fixed on the EBT panel of the furnace. Its dedicated carbon injection port favours foaming across the entire bath surface. A tight seal is needed to prevent air ingress. The RCB panel enables easy and safe assembly and disassembly of the equipment from outside of the furnace. Typical: EBT RCB panel incl. carbon lance (Fig 2). Burners RCB (Refining Combined Burner) Technical description The RCB (Refining Combined Burner) is designed as an injection tool that guarantees an excellent input of chemical energy into the EAF. It operates in different modes according to the required process stages of the EAF. Basically it is an oxygen/natural gas burner with an integrated oxygen injection function installed in a special burner panel (flat or nose panel) in the side wall of the EAF. The burner is designed as an annular oxygen/natural gas burner with integrated oxygen injection nozzle in the centre of the burner. In lance mode the oxygen is injected into the steel bath as a coherent jet with high kinetic energy (supersonic speed through the centre nozzle) stabilised and protected with a shrouding flame (burner oxygen and burner natural gas). RCB operating principle (Fig 3).
* Steelmaking process metallurgist, **Senior key expert electric steelmaking, ***Business manager, steel & environmental, Primetals Technologies www.steeltimesint.com
furnaces primetals.indd 1
September 2018
05/09/2018 09:16:40
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FURNACES
Shrouding flame (burner oxygen & gas) of refining oxygen
Supersonic stream refining oxygen RCB Refining oxygen
Fig 2. Typical: EBT RCB panel incl.
RCB - Cooling water
carbon lance
The length of the coherent oxygen jet depends on the distance between the liquid steel level and the position of the burner in the side wall panel as well as nozzle design, oxygen pressure and flow rate. The RCB consists of three main components to guarantee easy handling and maintenance and is designed to be assembled/disassembled without any tools. The three main components are: (Fig 4) • RCB water-cooled mixing chamber (Fig 4a). • RCB middle part (Fig 4b). • RCB lance (Fig 4c). The RCB’s media connections include check valves for safety placed at the inlet for refining oxygen, burner oxygen and burner natural gas to protect media supply lines in case of backfiring. Additionally, the sizes of the quick couplings for the media connections are different in order to prevent wrong connections and they follow the tool-free maintenance philosophy of the RCB for easy handling and maintenance. Technical data (RCB Nozzle) (Table 1) RCB (Refining Combined Burner (Fig 5) The RCB burners installed on the side wall of the furnace offer the following functions: • Low fire mode • Burner mode, for conventional scrap pre-heating • Lance mode or oxygen injection mode for refining Low fire mode If the RCB burner is started and ignited by the hot atmosphere inside the furnace (safety interlocks are present to prevent ignition of the RCB in a cold furnace) the RCB is running between the heats and during power-off of the furnace in low-fire September 2018
furnaces primetals.indd 2
RCB Burner natural gas
Fig 3. RCB operating principle
RCB - Burner oxygen
Oxygen (Refining)
up to 2.500 Nm³/h (up to 1550 scfm)
Oxygen (Burner)
100 - 800 Nm³/h (60 – 500 scfm)
Natural Gas (Burner)
50 - 350 Nm³/h (30 – 220 scfm)
* The flow rates given above just an indication and can vary depending on the EAF needs
Table 1. Technical data (RCB Nozzle). Design flow rates: per RCB
mode (stand-by mode) to prevent clogging of the nozzles. Burner mode The RCB can be operated during power-on in burner mode as a conventional burner (adapted to the specific requirements of the furnace process) to pre-heat and melt down the scrap (depending on scrap type and volume) in the front area of the RCB. The RCB will be switched to lance mode after a certain power input and the scrap in front of the RCB is melted. Lance mode Once the melt down phase in burner mode is finished, the RCB lance mode will start. In lance mode, the RCB injects oxygen into the steel bath as a coherent jet at supersonic speed with high kinetic energy. The coherent jet is stabilised and protected with a shrouding flame (burner oxygen and burner natural gas) to guarantee efficient oxygen injection. The arrangement of the RCB oxygen technology allows the ‘closed door operation’ of the furnace in order to reduce losses from excessive cold air through the slag door. Furnace shell Furnace shell/ RCB arrangement The RCB Oxygen Technology System is
installed in the upper shell of the furnace to the position as shown on the previous page. Two of the RCBs will be installed with the nose panel to the existing side wall panel at the furnace, and one will be installed to the existing EBT panel for the chemical energy input into the furnace (Fig. 5). Modifications to the water-cooled side wall panels and the EBT panel are necessary to allow the installation of the new equipment. The thermocouples (PT 100) for the cooling water temperature measurement in the return line of the sidewall panel, as well as for the RCB cooling water measurement, are standard. A thermocouple in the front plate of the nose panel is also used to warn the operator of blow back. The automation will set the burner to low fire for a certain period of time and then the burner profile will be will resumed. This feature greatly improves the life of the panels. Drawing/Sketch is typical only. RCB panel will be located above the split line (Fig 6). Hoses and valves on the frame The fixed RCB media piping for natural gas and oxygen is located on the tilt platform near the RCB burner. The RCB media piping is equipped with a protective structure to protect the equipment from possible falling scrap during furnace charging. All media supply lines are equipped with manual www.steeltimesint.com
05/09/2018 09:16:41
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FURNACES
Water cooled mixing chamber with copper tip
Fig 4. The three main components
Quick coupling for easy handling & tool free maintenance
Fig 4a. RCB - Water cooled mixing chamber Fig 4a.
Fig 4b.
RCB water cooled mixing chamber
CFD optimised nozzle (screw in type) for better efficiency as well as for faster, easier & low maintenance
Fig 4c.
RCB middle part (with changeable nozzle)
Quick coupling for easy handling & tool free maintenance
RCB lance (with changeable nozzle)
CFD optimised nozzle (screw in type) for better efficiency as well as for faster, easier & cost saving maintenance
Cooling water inlet & outlet (DN40)
CFD optimised nozzle (screw in type) for better efficiency as well as for faster, easier & cost saving maintenance Fig 5. RCB Refining Combined Burner (assembled)
Check valve mounted on inlet of refining oxygen
Check valves mounted on inlet of burner oxygen & natural gas
Fig 4b. RCB - Middle part
shut-off valves close to the supply lines to the RCB for maintenance (Fig. 7). Carbon injection system Carbon injection (process) The carbon injector system works with the RCB oxygen technology to achieve the following objectives: During burner-lance mode the RCB will generate a liquid pool and then additional carbon will be injected through the carbon injection port, which is close to the RCB, into the steel bath. The oxygen will start reacting with the carbon and will generate additional energy according to the kinetics of the reaction. At the end of the melting process and during the refining time, the RCB will operate in lance mode and, in combination with carbon injection, an excellent foamy slag will be generated. Incombustible gases and compressed air Oxygen Valve stand oxygen The oxygen valve stand is designed for the supply and control of the refining & burner oxygen flow necessary for the different September 2018
furnaces primetals.indd 3
Fig 4c. RCB - lance
operational modes of the RCB oxygen technology system. The oxygen main supply manifolds, in addition to the outgoing flow control lines to each RCB, are mounted on a solid frame fixed to the ground. The oxygen valve rack is designed for individual and independent control and regulation of each RCB. For maintenance purposes, the oxygen valve rack, or the flow control line to the RCB, can be shut-off manually to guarantee an individual and safe repair of the installed equipment. The manifold of the oxygen valve stand connected to the customers’ supply consists of: • Manual shut-off valve for maintenance • Pneumatically controlled shut-off valve with positioner • Supply pressure indication • Pressure transmitter • Temperature transmitter • Outlets for refining and burner oxygen supply/control lines • Ventilation line for maintenance The refining and burner oxygen supply/
Check valves mounted on inlet of refining oxygen, burner oxygen & natural gas Quick coupling for easy handling & tool free maintenance
control line connected to the manifold consists of: • Manual shut-off valve for maintenance • Pneumatically controlled shut-off valve with positioner • Flow measuring device • Flow regulation valve • Outlet pressure indication Details of oxygen valve stand (refining and burner oxygen (Fig 8)) Combustible gases and liquids Natural gas Valve stand natural gas The natural gas valve stand is designed for the supply and control of the natural gas flow necessary for the different operational modes of the RCB oxygen technology system. The natural gas main supply manifold, as well as the outgoing flow control lines to each RCB is mounted on a solid frame fixed to the ground. The natural gas valve rack is designed for individual and independent control and regulation of each RCB. For maintenance purposes, the natural www.steeltimesint.com
05/09/2018 09:16:44
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44
FURNACES
(metric units on liquid steel)
Old performance values
Achieved performances
562 kWh/t
532 kWh/t
57 min
53 min
Electrical energy Power on time
Table 2. (metric units on liquid steel)
Old performance values
Achieved contract performances
390 kWh/t
375 kWh/t
1,75 kg/t
1,45 kg/t
Electrical energy Electrode consumption
Table 3. Table 4. (metric units on liquid steel)
Fig 6. Drawing/sketch is typical only. RCB panel will be located above the split line
gas valve rack or the flow control line to the RCB can be shut-off manually to guarantee individual and safe repair of the installed equipment. The manifold of the natural gas valve stand connected to the customers’ supply consists of: • Manual shut-off valve for maintenance • Pneumatically controlled shut-off valve with positioner • Supply pressure indication
Old performance values
Achieved performances
400 kWh/t
358 kWh/t
32,5 min
30,5 min
Electrical energy Power on time
Protection cover
Refining oxygen Burner oxygen Burner gas
• Pressure transmitter • Temperature transmitter • Outlets for burner natural gas supply/ control lines • Ventilation line for maintenance The natural gas supply/control line connected to the manifold is consists of: • Manual shut-off valve for maintenance • Pneumatically controlled shut-off valve with positioner • Pressure switch with leak test (automated sequence) • Pneumatically controlled shut-off valve with positioner • Flow measuring device • Flow regulation valve • Outlet pressure indication Details of natural gas valve stand (Fig 9). Reference installations Saudi Arabia (2016) EAF Data: • AC-EAF with EBT • 150-155 tons tapping • 120 MVA transformer September 2018
furnaces primetals.indd 4
Thailand (2015) EAF Data: • AC-EAF with EBT • 77 metric tons tap weight • 72 MVA transformer • 4 x RCB (2000 Nm³/h nominal flow)/ 3* carbon injection • 100% scrap operation (4 buckets per heat) Objective: Replacement of an injection system. The old system was equipped with four oxygen injection tools and three additional burners. Performance data: The upgrade led to the following process improvements (Table 3).
Fig 7. Typical: RCB media piping on the frame (at
• 3 * RCB / 3* C-lances • Nozzle design: 2200 Nm³/h @ 8 bar • Feeding through 5th hole possible (CDRI, Lime, Dolo, [Carbon only shots]) • 100% DRI operation
Russia (2017) EAF Data: • AC-EAF with EBT • 135 tons tapping • 130 MVA + 20% transformer • 6 x RCB / 1 x burner / 4 x C-lances • Nozzle design: 2500 Nm³/h @ 8 bar • Feeding through 5th hole possible • 100% scrap operation
Objective: Improve DRI process. Replace existing oxygen lance through sidewall. Keep second oxygen lance through the door.
Objective: Replace seven existing injection tools from (burners and lancing) and improve the performance
Performance data: The increased performance was successfully achieved as shown with the data below. The second door lance is not in use anymore. Contract figures for 100% Cold DRI: 542 kWh/t and 55 min Power-on time (Table 2).
Performance data: Significant process improvements resulted from this project and exceeded the given performance guarantees: Contract figures for 100% Scrap: 370 kWh/t and 31 min power-on time. (Table 4)
tilting platform)
www.steeltimesint.com
05/09/2018 09:16:45
46
FURNACES
Flow control valve refining oxygen
Flow control valve natural gas
Flow control valve burner oxygen
Shut-off valve #2 natural gas
Flow meter refining oxygen
Leakage test control device
Flow meter burneroxygen
Shut-off valve #1 natural gas
Shut-off valve refining oxygen
Flow meter natural gas
Shut-off valve burner oxygen
Fig 9. Typical photo: Natural gas valve stand
Fig 8. Typical photo: oxygen valve stand
Conclusion The concrete examples listed in this paper demonstrate that many EAFs can perform more efficiently
with improvements to the injection technology while making minimal changes to the other equipment. The payback can sometimes be
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PERSPECTIVES: HITACHI HIGH-TECH ANALYTICAL SCIENCE
‘Things are going pretty good’ Hitachi High-Tech Analytical Science used to be known as Oxford Instruments and has a rich 45-year heritage, according to Dawn Brooks*. The company has an aggressive product and service development plan and aims to be more accessible to customers through social media platforms 1. How are things going at Hitachi High-Tech Analytical Science? Is the steel industry keeping you busy? Things are going pretty good since our transition from Oxford Instruments, which has gone very well. We’ve been Hitachi High-Tech Analytical Science for a year now, but we have a rich 45-year heritage. I’m really pleased with the growth we are seeing across our range of spectrometers. The steel and metals industry is a significant market for us globally. We’re seeing a high demand for our range of analysers, which consists of multiple spectroscopy techniques – OES (optical emission spectroscopy), XRF (X-ray fluorescence) and LIBS (laser induced breakdown spectroscopy). We’re in the unique position that we are able to offer the right product for the job to the industry. 2. 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. 3. In which sector of the steel industry does Hitachi High-Tech Analytical Science mostly conduct its business?
We deal with a lot of secondary production companies with whom our OES analysers are popular. As the trend for 100% positive material identification is increasing, we’re seeing big growth in analysers being used for quality assurance and control. We also work with a lot of recycling and scrap companies and those that have a need for inspection of components before, during and after they are put in use in a process environment.
4. Steel Times International is buying, what’s your poison? A nice cup of tea, thanks. 5. Where in the world are you busiest at present? We sell globally, but China is definitely keeping us busy. Both from a sales and service perspective, but also as that’s where we have production too. We’ve had a good track record in EMEA and in the Americas we’re seeing a lot of growth in the market.
6. Can you discuss any major steel contracts you are currently working on? We’re working on 100% mix up avoidance automation projects with some major steel companies in Europe, the US and Asia. In addition, we’re also preparing a new approach for huge steel plants for a more at-line effective process control. 7. “Aluminium will always outperform steel on a weight basis; and on the stiffness issue alone it will carry the day,” said Alcoa’s chief technology officer Ray Kilmer speaking about aluminium usage within the global automotive industry. Where do you stand on the aluminium versus steel argument? Aluminium demand is growing especially with car manufacturers. Steel, though, still has a place for specific customer applications. We’ve got analysers that can analyse both steel and aluminium, so we’ve got an instrument in our range for all our customer’s analysis needs. 8. Is aluminium ‘greener’ than steel? It’s more about the process than the product. You can make it greener with process improvements including waste, cost and production efficiencies. 9. 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
* Managing director September 2018
Perspectives.indd 1
www.steeltimesint.com
05/09/2018 16:39:35
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PERSPECTIVES: HITACHI HIGH-TECH ANALYTICAL SCIENCE
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. 10. In your dealings with steel producers, are you finding that they are looking to companies like Hitachi High-Tech Analytical Science to offer them digital manufacturing solutions? Absolutely, automation and also products are going more digital. A good example is our data management and storage system, ExTOPE Connect, that allows you to store your results safely, share data instantly via your mobile, so text, email or WhatsApp, and then access the data in real time from any computer. So the data from your fleet of instruments can be managed from one centralised location.
portable format so you can be in the sharp end of the production line rather than having to take samples to the lab. We’ve also got products that cover all three spectroscopy techniques – OES, LIBS and XRF – so we can help customers pick the right technology for the job. We’ve also enabled our customers with the latest data management systems to have real-time data with instant access by a central intelligence team. 13. How do you view Hitachi HighTech Analytical Science’s development over the short-to-medium term in relation to the global steel industry? We have an aggressive product and service development plan, which is informed by our marketing voice of customer activity looking at both the current and future state of the global steel industry. We work to three-tofive-year product road maps, with the next 12 to 18 months being crucial to us as we significantly invest into our products and also into our customer interface. We also want to be more accessible to customers through modern digital platforms. 14. What is Hitachi High-Tech’s Analytical Science’s experience of the Chinese steel industry? We’ve got a really long and positive experience of the Chinese steel industry. We can see strides that are being made to move towards high quality and high efficiency factories, this is really noticeable. We’re also supporting customers with products and services for them to succeed.
11. Is the steel industry ready to take advantage of digital manufacturing? The steel industry will need to deliver on quality and maximise on up-time of their lines. We’ve also got many years’ experience of automation and really proud about the work that’s going into ExTOPE Connect, our data management and storage service. It’s been available on our handheld analyser ranges, but we’re now rolling it across our other products. It really helps companies have access to data to make decisions. Ultimately, even if the customer isn’t there quite yet, we’re ready for when they are. 12. Where does Hitachi High-Tech Analytical Science lead the field in terms of steel production technology? We lead in our ability to bring measurement analysers to the sample – many of our instruments come either in handheld or September 2018
Perspectives.indd 2
15. Which breakthrough technologies will have a revolutionary impact and will it be something that is ‘one size fits all’? I believe there are actually three different technologies that will have a revolutionary impact. Firstly detector technology will become more sensitive and accurate, giving companies a leading edge. This will be very important in my view. Secondly, fundamental understanding of spectroscopy techniques will have an impact and thirdly, data management. And it definitely isn’t ‘one size fits all’. With 45 years of experience, we really understand our customers, and that’s where, for us, our expert application and technical teams play a critical role. 16. How important is reputation
management to the steel industry? I think reputation and brand are most important for any company. It’s not just about what you make; it’s how you are perceived. For example, we’re seeing 100% PMI as a key trend, so 100% testing steel and metals. Many companies trust but want to verify the material they have received so they can make sure it’s fit for purpose, even if a certificate is supplied, as the consequences can be catastrophic to brand reputation if something does go wrong. And this applies through the supply chain too. 17. How optimistic are you for the global steel industry going forward and what challenges face global producers in the short-to-medium term? I am optimistic. One of the most significant challenges will be around tariffs and geopolitical risks as these will affect everyone. 18. Hitachi High-Tech Analytical Science is based in the UK, but how is the domestic steel industry performing? In the United Kingdom, there are signs of recovery as we see an increase of infrastructure projects so you’d expect to see a growth in demand. 19. What exhibitions and conferences will Hitachi High-Tech Analytical Science be attending in 2018/2019? We’ve got a very busy autumn of events coming as we attend events around the world, but some highlights include: Tube and QC Show in China; Ankiros in Turkey; Metal Expo in Russia; Indometal in Indonesia; and smaller workshops in Germany to name a few. 20. Apart from strong coffee, what keeps you awake at night? I don’t actually drink coffee but what keeps me awake is the uncertainty with economics and trade wars. 21. 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. � www.steeltimesint.com
05/09/2018 16:39:43
STI September 2018_Steel Times Int FP 03/09/2018 16:45 Page 1
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52
HISTORY
‘Forging the Fleet’ HMS Warrior, the first British armoured iron hulled battleship, was launched in 1860
David Boursnell’s book about naval armour-plate manufacturing from 1860 through to 1916 makes for interesting reading, says Tim Smith*
NAVAL armour-plate manufacture and the UK’s armour makers from 1860 to 1916 is the subject of a 144-page book by David Boursnell. The book largely uses hitherto unpublished information from ledgers dating from 1903 to 1920, discovered at Sheffield’s Kelham Island Museum. Additionally, a record of company invoices, which include a mystery column showing that 20% of income was paid into a ‘pool’, reveal an agreement between the five British armour producers to share out Admiralty orders, thus effectively creating a price cartel, a practice also suspected of armour producers in the USA, Germany and France. Five companies dominated the manufacture of armour plate and heavy guns in the UK during this period. Initially Sheffield steelmakers John Brown and Charles Cammell were the sole producers of armour plate, but by 1900 they were joined by Vickers, also in Sheffield, Armstrong in Manchester and Beardmore in Glasgow. Together these five companies controlled the market and shared the benefits between themselves. Iron armour had been in use to clad wooden warships from 1859 when France launched ‘Gloire’. In response, in Britain, the Royal Navy built the first iron-hulled frigate, ‘Warrior’ in 1859 – 61, which today survives at the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, UK. The move from wooden hull vessels to iron not only required experimentation to develop the most effective armour, but also the re-equipping of the Naval Dockyards to build and maintain a fleet of iron ships. The Crimean War, which ended in 1856, had shown that British artillery was inadequate and this led to the development of much heavier guns with companies such as
William Armstrong and Joseph Whitworth in the UK designing better guns, while Bessemer developed his steelmaking process in 1857 in order to make steel for rifled barrel guns. Previously, the heaviest shot fitted to the old wooden three-deck battleships weighed 42lb (19kg). When launched in 1860, HMS Warrior was armed with ten 110lb (50kg) guns, and 400lb (181kg) shot was being fired by the end of the 1860s. By 1880, 1684lb (764kg) projectiles were fired from 16in (400mm) bore guns. William Palliser invented a chilled iron shot in 1867, which could pierce 22in (550mm) of wrought iron armour. John Brown and Charles Cammell were the first to separately develop compound armour in 1870 which had a steel face and wrought iron back and was significantly more effective than all wrought iron armour. This enabled lighter armour to be employed on ships and led to the development of a new class of battleship, the pre-Dreadnoughts. A number of firms had been experimenting with steel armour from the late 1880s, notably the French steelmaker Schneider et Cie, and in 1889, in the USA, a cementation process was developed to increase the surface carbon content. Friedrich Krupp in Germany developed this process further; its armour was three times more effective than wrought iron and enabled ships to have protection over a greater part without the penalty of increased weight. All major navies adopted it and the British armour companies re-
equipped to make it. The world’s navies closely observed the Russo-Japanese war of 1904-05 and a debate emerged as to whether ships were more effective armed with many smaller guns or fewer larger guns. The latter idea won through, making the pre-Dreadnought ships obsolete. Britain took the lead in building the next generation of ships, laying down the first ‘all big gun’ ship, HMS Dreadnought, in 1905, a development that the major navies of the world soon followed. The battle of Jutland off the Danish Skagerrack commencing 31 May 1916 was the first test of the heavily armoured Dreadnoughts in which 250 ships took part. While the British Grand Fleet had higher casualties, loosing 14 ships compared with Germany’s 11, they succeeded in preventing the German High Seas Fleet from ever again attempting to harry the British coast. The book, illustrated with 65 photographs and diagrams, is divided into three sections: ‘Learning the possibilities of new technologies’, ‘The armour plate makers’ and ‘Armour and the Dreadnoughts’. An Appendix estimates the cost of making American plate armour in 1906, arriving at a figure of £46-62 per ton, while a second Appendix lists the price agreed in 1912-14 between the Admiralty and the five UK producers for complete armour for an ‘Iron Duke’ type Dreadnought which provides the weight and price for each part of the armour. An extensive bibliography is included along with a comprehensive index of contents. � ‘Forging the Fleet’ by David Boursnell, Sheffield Industrial Museums Trust, 2016 ISBN 978-0-96321-271-0 Price £9-99.
*Consulting editor, Steel Times International September 2018
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04/09/2018 11:14:06
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