Severstal completed an upgrade of Blast Furnace No.5 Air Heater at the Cherepovets Steel Mill
20.02.2012
ОАО Severstal (“Severstal” or the “Company”), one of the world’s
leading vertically integrated steel and steel related mining companies,
announces that its Cherepovets Steel Mill, part of the Severstal Russian Steel
Division and one of the world's largest standalone integrated steelworks by
capacity, has completed an upgrade of one of the principal units
comprising blast furnace No.5, its air heater.
With air heater No.4 upgraded in the amount of 736 million rubles ($US 24,5
million), it will be possible to increase the operating efficiency of Europe’s
largest blast furnace.
Upgrade operations started 18 months ago. Over this period of time, the old
unit that had been in use for 24 years, was fully dismantled and replaced with
a new one.
Andrei Lutsenko, chief engineer of the Severstal Russian Steel Division
commented: “Severstal regularly renovates its production facilities, investing
in their maintenance and development”.
“Severstal keeps investing in the renovation of its equipment. The
blast-furnace practice features renewal of fixed production assets, upgrade of
air heater No.4 being part of this process. Two more air heaters of blast
furnace No.5 are to be upgraded shortly”.
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Upgrade of production facilities at the Cherepovets Steel Mill in 2011
In 2011, Severstal put on stream the second metal color coating line ($78.1
million), a shredded scrap production complex ($56.6 million), and undertook a
program for repairs and maintenance of units of Division Severstal Russian
Steel ($550 million). Besides, the construction of its long products mini-mill
in Balakovo, Saratov Region, is still in the pipeline as planned. Severstal has
already allocated $350 million to this project, with total investments adding
up to some $700 million. The mill is slated to go on stream in 2Q 2013.
