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Severstal Completes Upgrade of Air Heater for Cherepovets Blast Furnace No.5

02/21/2012 - ОАО Severstal announced completion of the upgrade of the air heater of its blast furnace No. 5 at its Cherepovets Steel Mill.

ОАО Severstal announced completion of the upgrade of the air heater of its blast furnace No. 5 at its Cherepovets Steel Mill.
 
The upgrade to air heater No. 4, which was started 18 months ago, represents an investment of some 736 million rubles ($US 24.5 million). As part of the upgrade, the old unit, which has been in operation for 24 years, was fully dismantled and replaced with a new one. The upgrade will enable Severstal to increase the operating efficiency of Europe’s largest blast furnace.
 
“Severstal regularly renovates its production facilities, investing in their maintenance and development,” commented Andrei Lutsenko, Chief Engineer of Severstal Russian Steel Division.
 
“Severstal keeps investing in the renovation of its equipment,” Lutsenko. “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”.
 
Severstal made a number of upgrades to the production facilities at the Cherepovets Steel Mill in 2011, including the start-up of a second metal color coating line (an investment of $78.1 million) and a shredded scrap production complex (an investment of $56.6 million). The company also undertook a program for repairs and maintenance of units of the company’s Russian Steel Division (an investment of $550 million).
 
Severstal also is working toward planned construction of its long products mini-mill in Balakovo, Saratov Region. The company 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.
 
ОАО Severstal is one of the world’s leading vertically integrated steel and steel-related mining companies, with assets in Russia and the USA, in Ukraine, Latvia, Poland, Italy, Liberia and Brazil. Severstal’s crude steel production in 2010 reached 14.7 million tonnes. Cherepovets Steel Mill, part of Severstal’s Russian Steel Division, is one of the world's largest standalone integrated steelworks by capacity.