Iron & Steel Review September 2012 Issue

Nippon Steel Engineering

We are NIPPON STEEL & SUNIKIN ENGINEERING from October 1st 2012

VIEWPOINT

The Steel Industry: Role of Public & Private Sector
The New Industrial Poicy has opened up the iron and steel sector for private investments by removing it from the list of industries reserved for public sector. Imports of foreign technology and foreign direct investment are freely allowable up to certain limits.

Special Feature

Role of Public & Private Sector Steel Plants in the Growth of Indian Steel
16th February, 1912 was a red letter day for the Indian Steel Industry because the first ingot was rolled on that date at the Tata Iron and Steel Company’s (TISCO) plant at Sakchi (later named as Jamshedpur) in the then State of Bihar. This was India’s first integrated steel plant in the private sector.

The Technological Saga of SAIL
The journey began in the nineteen fifties when the first three steel plants in public sector in India were established, at Bhilai, Rourkela and Durgapur under the erstwhile Hindustan Steel Limited (HSL). These plants had an initial rated capacity of 1.0 Mtpa of ingots each and were conceived on an integrated basis with contemporary technologies albeit with different origins. Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP) had Soviet technology; Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) had German, while Durgapur Steel Plant (DSP) was based on British technology.

“I see SAIL improve its position as a world-class steelmaker along with rapid growth in top line”
SAIL is executing a colossal modernisation and expansion plan while exercising optimum works in its related machinery workings. Standing as a consistent market player, the steel major is keeping no stones unturned to be on the top line, says Shri C.S. Verma, Chairman, SAIL in a discussion with Mr. Santosh Mahanti, Editor, Iron & Steel Review.

“We need to improve operational efficiency to absorb the rising input cost whilst remaining competitive in the market”
Modes such as efficient operation along with low production cost to grip increasing input stands as the current challenges before SAIL and the 'Maharatna Company' is working profusely resulting in overall optimum improvements, says Shri Shashi Shekhar Mohanty, Director-Technical, SAIL. Additionally, he discusses the theme of techno-economics, raw material security, production map, steady environmental initiatives and upcoming robust modernisation and expansion plans with Mr. Santosh Mahanti, Editor, Iron & Steel Review.

RSP on the threshold of an apoch making era
There comes a time in the history of any organisation when it can be said that the time has come to make history. Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP), a unit of the Maharatna Company SAIL, is today on the threshold of such an epoch making era. The steel plant is now implementing a massive modernisation and expansion programme that is truly historic.

NATIONAL TRENDS

SMS Logistiksysteme to expand slab transport system
Bhushan Steel Ltd. commissioned SMS Logistiksysteme to expand the slab transport system at its Angul site in the Indian State of Odisha. The new roller table system will connect continuous casters 2 and 3 to the hot rolling mill and the flame scarfing machine to the fully automated transport section.

Largest slab cross-section in India
SMS Siemag will modernise the single-strand slab caster at the Raigarh, Chhattisgarh, works of Jindal Steel & Power Limited (JSPL).

Another score in India: the 300,000 tpy bar mill
BMW Industries Ltd. has selected Danieli as supplier of its new 300,000-tpy rolling mill for the production of deformed and merchant bars, with the provision for the future production of profiles, which is to be installed in Bokaro industrial area. The 18-stand mill, entirely made up of heavy-duty SHS housingless stands, will make use of the advanced MSR-multi-strand slit-rolling system (up to four strands for rebars down to 8- mm-dia) for production of the smallest rebar sizes, to fully exploit the mill’s full capacity.
New special steel rolling mill for Vardhman Special Steels Ltd., India
Vardhman Special Steels Limited, part of the Vardhman Group, a major producer of Special and Alloy Steels in India, at the end of June 2011 has awarded a contract to Danieli Morgardshammar Sweden for a new bar mill for the production of Special and Alloy Steel.

GLOBAL TRENDS

• Orders from Spain SMS Siemag and SMS INNSE modernise Acerinox stainless steelworks

  Acerinox, Palmones, Spain, has awarded SMS Siemag and SMS INNSE S.p.A. the order to supply an AOD converter and modernise the EAF supplied in 1998.

• Special Bar Quality technology for Brazil The new rolling mill for quality steel rounds at GerdauAços Espeçiais in Pindamonhangaba (SP)

  The new SBQ bar mill will enable Gerdau Group to expand its internal market supply to the automotive industry and other special steel applications. The order, effective from October 2010, foresees a Danieli Centro Maskin billet grinder for surface defect removal upstream of the rolling mill; a new 110-tph walkinghearth Danieli Centro Combustion reheating furnace; a high-speed rougher with four SHS stands; an intermediate/prefinishing mill with 10 SHS stands; and a four-stand Kocks/Danieli RSB block as the finishing mill for the range of SBQ round bars up to 70 mm dia.

• Meltshop modernisation at Sohar Steel, Oman

  Danieli Centro Met achieves its goal to be the No. 1 supplier for providing customised revamping solutions for steelmakers.

• 200-t twin-tank Vacuum Degasser at Jindal Shadeed, Oman

  Danieli Centro Met consolidates its market position in the supply of VD with mechanical dry pumps, a modern and reliable solution that achieves the optimal vacuum level necessary for all clean and quality steels, without any steam consumption and related condenser water.

• Order from Indonesia PT. Gunung orders EAF and ladle furnace

  SMS Siemag will supply an ARCCESS® electric arc furnace and a ladle furnace to PT. Gunung, Indonesia. Each of the furnaces will have a tapping weight of 120 tonnes. Already last year, the customer ordered a slab casting machine from SMS Siemag. All three plants are scheduled to be commissioned in mid-2013.

• Fuxin Special Steel, China Shipment of first components for AOD converter

  SMS Siemag is supplying a steelworks for the production of stainless steel slabs to Fuxin Special Steel Co. Ltd., China. This will be the first stainless steel plant worldwide to use the waste heat from the AOD converter and the EAF.

• SBQ bar mill modernisation at Gerdau Special Steel NA, U.S.A.

  As the plant modernisation and in particular for the SBQ section (the meltshop project is progressing well toward completion during Q2, 2012) Gerdau Special Steel NA decided also to modernise the rolling mill facilities, choosing Danieli Group once again as its reliable technology partner.

• Danieli to supply Nanomill to Angola Steel Corp., Angola

  Angola Steel Corp. (ASC) is one of the leading steel traders of long products in Southern Africa and this project represents the first phase of future implementation for other steel plants in the country, to achieve a comprehensive capacity of up to 1 Mtpy of finished long products.

• Baosteel aims at high-tech field of forging steel

  Since this year, Baosteel has aimed at forging steel in the high-tech market to promote automobile high-grade forging steel series products. Up to now, fifteen brands of this products has successfully entered into the main stream of automobile brand market, achieving batch supply to customers with a steady production and sales promotion. This also means that Baosteel forging steel products has made an important step for diversified competition.

• Essar Steel wins global pipe orders worth Rs. 400 Cr

  Essar Steel has won two sizeable orders from Middle east and Africa for manufacturing of API (American Petroleum Institute) grade steel pipes worth Rs. 400 crore. This takes the total order book of the pipe mill to approximately Rs. 1000 crore indicating strong order inflow for the company.

FOCUS

India set to be the next steel country after China
The annual listing by Metal Bulletin (MB) of the world’s top steelmakers captivating their liquid metal production is consistently expected with much interest. This system in ranking focuses on the changes in geographical pattern in steel fabrication by countries. The process follows exactly the natural capacity growth in Asia as manufacturers in the European Union (EU) are required by demand fall to put further capacity at rest.

Indian Refractory Industry - slowly moving towards development
During 2010-11, the Indian refractory industry showcased total exports of approximately Rs. 1062 crores, a moderate increase from Rs. 932 crores in the previous year. There has been export of High Alumina bricks & shapes, special products etc. but significant decline in the export of silica bricks.

COMPANY NEWS

ANDRITZ Sundwig S6-high rolling mill
During the last years, ANDRITZ Sundwig has intensively worked on the development of the S6-high mill stands (ANDRITZ Sundwig patent). These multiple roll mills are especially appropriate as high-capacity reduction mills for thingauge strips.

COMPANY PROFILE

ACE Calderys in its new avatar Calderys India
ACE Calderys Refractories Ltd. has now become Calderys India Refractories Ltd. as of May 1st 2012. The company dates back to 1936 and entered the refractory business in 1951 and renowned as ACC Refractories, a refractory leader in India. It was known as ACE Refractories from 2005 until its acquisition by Calderys, an Imerys subsidiary and the European leader in refractories, in 2008.

METAL INDUSTRY IN EAST

Odisha - the Immaculate Destination for Metals Industry
Within a short span of time, Odisha came up as the place to be in and Bhubaneswar, the capital city, suddenly turned out to a phenomenal place where every corporate honchos wanted to have their foothold-thanks to the land's abundant raw materials, natural resources, long coast line, plenty landscape, eco-friendly environment and well-connected transport accessibility which acted as the feather on the cap. These positive notions wooed the metals industry to lay their footfalls in this State.

MARKET / PRODUCT

Largest LINSINGER Circular Saw is a Step towards a New Era
800 mm steel in just four minutes: The circular sawing machine KSA 2200 DPD from LINSINGER Austria opens up new dimensions in cutting steel billets. The first machine of its type has been supplied to South Korea by the Austrian technology expert.

MINERAL PROCESSING

Development of Mineral Based Industries in Odisha
For the last four decades, it has been my pleasure to have been intimately connected with the development of industries in Odisha. As Odisha has got vast natural resources, the process of industrialisation mainly centres in developing vital industries on its mineral wealth. In our State, 3,300 million tonnes of iron ore, 43 million tonnes of manganese ore, 100 million tonnes of chromite ore, 65 million tonnes of nickel ore, 2,000 million tonnes of bauxite, 2 million tonnes of vanadium ore, 30,000 million tonnes of coal, 700 million tonnes of limestone, 360 million tonnes of dolomite, 50 million tonnes of mineral sand, 35 million tonnes of china clay and 62 million tonnes of fire clay are available.

STEEL TECHNOLOGY

Danieli Hot Skin Pass Mill : An Innovative Technology for Production of Value-Added Hot Rolled Coils
The objective of this paper is to present the necessity of hot skin passing operation to improve the strip quality with respect to flatness, elongation and surface roughness of the hot rolled coils produced from a conventional hot strip mill or thin slab and casting & rolling plant. Such hot skin pass mills will also reduce the rejection level of hot rolled coils by the very demanding customers as well as such HSPMs can also be used as coil dividing lines to meet the specific requirements of customers. Danieli's innovative solution for such hot skin pass mills have resulted in to a large number of orders and reference installations globally. This paper also briefly describes the features of few recent hot skin pass mill installations in Dragon Steel, Taiwan and Gerdau Acominas, Brazil.

STEEL MARKET

World Steel Consumption & Production
The global steel industry, one of the highest contributing sectors in the world economic and social development arena, has witnessed a roller coaster ride since 2007. Considered a cornerstone of the global economy, the steel industry directly employs more than two million people worldwide, with a further two million contractors and four million people in supporting industries. Being the key product supplier to industries such as automotive, construction, transport, power and machine goods, and using a multiplier of 25:1, the steel industry is one of the key employment sources for more than 50 million people across the world. Due to its unique combination of strength, formability and versatility, steel touches every aspect of a human life.

PRE-ENGINEERED BUILDING

Pre-Engineered Building - a boon for building industry in India
As years pass by, steady changes take the leap and the building industry in India stands as no exception. Be it in growth pattern or overall developmental forms, the related industry sector in this country stares at increasing enlargement of its total aura. However, complexities also take the key simultaneously beside the growth period and Pre-Engineered Buildings or PEB’s achieves the right note playing ‘boon’ in this building industry.

MATERIAL HANDLING

Billet Handling Crane
The billet handling crane is a customised design crane which meets the technical specifications of a steel mill. The large capacities of billet handling cranes are used for handling long sized billets which help operators to increase their production. These cranes consist of “C” hook assembly to support billets, rods, pipes, and other elongated products. The hook assembly includes spreader beam suspended from the rope drum through a pair of cables. These cranes are available in various capacities and come with attachments like rectifiers/controllers, cabin with video monitoring system and VVVF (variable-voltage, variable-frequency) drive. The most important design factor of a billet crane is that it is designed with a rotating spreader beam to reduce handling, waste and energy consumption. This is feasible and by incorporating these design features, yield is increased and cost is minimised. Most of the higher capacities of billet handling cranes are supplied with magnets.

RAW MATERIAL

World and Indian Scenarios of Sponge Iron
World crude steel production reached 1,490 million tonnes (Mt) for the year of 2011, this is an increase only 5.4% compared to 2010 and that is a record for global crude steel production. All the major steel-producing countries apart from Japan and Spain showed growth in 2011 (Table 1). Growth was particularly robust in Turkey, South Korea and Italy[1]. India produced 72.2 Mt crude steel i.e. 7.9% increasing in 2011 compare to 2010. World sponge iron production in 2011 increased to 73.3 Mt setting yet another new record for the sponge iron industry[2]. Growth slowed in some areas of the world, but in other regions increased production more than counteracted the declining locales.

REFRACTORY

Nano-engineered Refractories: An Innovative Approach
In order to fulfill the demands of refractories consumers for improved performance, lower costs, energy savings and environmental sustainability; a radical approach to research and development of refractories is needed. Use of conventional raw materials and standard production techniques will be inadequate to respond to the growing demand and it can only be possible through breakthrough innovations. Early development in refractories (both shaped and unshaped) are concentrated on the coarse (aggregate) constituents. Whereas recent efforts are aligned towards the strengthening of matrix and/or bonds to confer both stability and good in-service behaviour, leading to today's complex and composite systems. This paper evaluates the prospects for use of nanomaterials in the field of refractories. A brief introduction to nanotechnology is described followed by an overview of potential impact of different nanomaterials such as nano-carbon, titania and Fe2O3 in different refractories applications.

PRE-SHOW REPORT

The 9th International Exhibition & Conference - MMMM 2012
MMMM 2012 (Minerals, Metals, Metallurgy and Materials) is the ninth show in the series of international exhibitions and conferences focusing on the latest developments in the mining, mineral, metal & metallurgical industries and serving as an excellent platform for international companies to showcase their products & services.

SEMINAR & CONFERENCE

Seminar on ‘Water Management in Steel Plants’ by FICCI
The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) is India’s apex Industry organisation. Keeping with its endeavour to being industry’s voice for policy change & to bring all the stakeholders on one platform, it organised a technical seminar on Water Management in Steel Plants at Federation House, New Delhi on September 07, 2012.