|
|
| |
|
|
Sheffield Forgemasters pumps GBP 2 million into melting facility-The 19th China(Guangzhou)Int’l Metal &Metallurgy E
xhibition
8/1/2017 steel expo-metal &metallurgy expo |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
|
The Star reported that Forgemasters is firing again after a GBP 2 million, seven-month overhaul of a giant electric arc furnace named ‘Maggie’. The Brightside company is celebrating the upgrade of equipment installed in the 1960s which can melt 105 tonnes of steel faster, using less energy and producing a cleaner product.
According to Mr Gareth Barker operations director, it involved removing more than 150 tonnes of mechanical components, hydraulics, refractory material and cabling. And it took seven months including seven weeks when it was completely out of action, requiring planning to prevent other departments being starved of work.
Mr Barker said that “Logistically and physically, this has been an enormous undertaking. The previous configuration served us well over the years and has been continually upgraded and maintained but to make a more effective melting plant, we knew that it would require radical reconfiguration. With the exception of the main hearth and staging, we have essentially built a new furnace.”
The GBP 2 million project is part of the firm’s turnaround plan, which includes GBP 6.5 million on equipment, after two years in the red.
The electric arc furnace was installed in the 1960s with a capacity to melt 90 tonnes, this was later upgraded to 105 tonnes ‘tap weight capacity’.
Mr Barker added that the upgrade involved stripping out almost 80 per cent of the furnace to upgrade a electrode columns and current carrying arms, cabling, automation and control systems, hydraulics and water cooling equipment.
The result was a 15% efficiency improvement. Sheffield Forgemasters is a supplier of components to the UK and US defence industries, power generation and offshore oil and gas. It exports more than 60 per cent of products.
Mr Barker added that “In order for Sheffield Forgemasters to compete in an increasingly competitive and fluctuating global market, we need technical excellence and the ability to make efficiencies.”
-The
19th China(Guangzhou)Int’l Metal &Metallurgy Exhibition
|
|
|
|
|
