Novolipetsk Steel has commissioned a high-capacity 4 mtpa ladle furnace that will enable the company to produce new steel grades for automotive, white goods and electrical engineering applications. 

The project is being implemented in cooperation with Siemens VAI (Austria) as part of the second stage of NLMK’s Technical Upgrade Program.  Fully automated process control and up-to-date fume extraction and gas cleaning system ensure excellent  environmental performance of the facility.  The new ladle furnace  will reduce steel treatment costs and maximise quality improvements.

This year NLMK plans to commission an additional 4 mtpa ladle furnace at its main production site in Lipetsk.  The total capacity of the two facilities will amount to c. 8 mpta.  About 60 jobs will be created covering operation and maintenance.  The Company plans to allocate over RUR 3 bln to the construction of these two facilities.

In addition, in 2010-2011 NLMK intends to commission two more ladle furnaces with an overall capacity of 4 mtpa.  Therefore, when complete, these facilities will process a total of about 12 mtpa of steel.

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A ladle furnace is a hi-tech industrial complex for secondary metallurgy of steel prior to slab casting in continuous casting machines.  

The process includes melt homogenization in terms of temperature and chemical composition.  The advantage of this facility is the capability to achieve ultra-low sulfur content in steel (up to 0.001%), while maintaining alloy additions and temperature parameters strictly within preset limits.