Zeleziarne Podbrezova reached the record number of heats

Since its establishment in 1840, the steel mill of Železiarne Podbrezová has been characterized by the fast technology development, precision production and the high-quality standard of the final products.

Over the years several significant milestones have been reached.

• If we look at modern history, the first automated control system was introduced in the eighties of the last century;

• The high-performance electric arc furnace was put in operation in the nineties;

• The subsequent steps in the innovation were the reconstruction of the electric arc and ladle furnace dedusting system and the completed renovation of the continuous casting equipment eight years ago.

In October of this year, our steelmakers reached another milestone: maybe less significant for unprofessional but of considerable importance for steel mill and undoubtedly an interesting fact that is worth to be mentioned: 25 heats were carried out in one day in the steel mill. So far, something like this has never happened. At present, daily average is 21 heats.

“We have only had 24 heats twice since the launching of the electric arc furnace. But only now we have been able to cast 25 heats a day. We have planned this trail for several times in the past, but there was always a situation that ultimately made it impossible, “said Mr Juraj Havran, production manager at the steel mill.

At present, the mill produces 14 various cross section – round and square of blooms and billets. Only very recently, after 9 years of break the cross section of 225×225 millimetres was added again to the product portfolio.

The record number of heats was achieved when producing square cross section bloom size of 205×205 mm. “It’s the most common produced bloom in the company steel mill. It represents up to two thirds of our production” he explained.

Reliability

The record would not be possible if all parts of the mosaic did not fit together. The devices, and also the human factor, must work. There must not have been a major mistake involving the process.

“The reliability of the machines (electric furnace, ladle furnace and con caster) is important, on which machine maintenance has a great deal of credit. Thanks to the interplay of the team, we carried out some heats in less than an hour, which shortened the production time” said a long-term employee of the steel mill.

The reliability of the equipment is necessary for meeting the qualitative and quantitative needs of the customers.

Higher speed

The casting speed of a continuous casting plant also plays an important role. For the square cross section of 205×205 millimetres it is usually 0,95 meters per minute. “On record day, we managed to produce faster. We carried out two thirds of the heats at an average of one meter per minute, which also shortened the casting time”.

“In addition to the factors mentioned, the success would not be possible without the skilful workers. The preparation of the raw material – steel scrap was without any problem in the mentioned day. Everything worked in the harmony:  charging – smelting – ladle lining – continuous caster” concluded J. Havran.

Article written by:

For more information, details or requests, don’t hesitate to contact the author of this article.

Don’t miss out on our news and initiatives, read our BLOG and Subscribe to our Newsletter