NLMK Indiana has received the Gold Reliability Achievement Award from Association for Iron & Steel Technology (AIST) for the upgrade of its 118-ton electric arc furnace (EAF) at its Portage, Indiana facility, carried out in collaboration with Primetals Technologies.
The modernization was completed with a shutdown period of six weeks until first heat, followed by a rapid ramp-up to more than 20 heats per day within four days.
The upgrade focused on improving safety and maintenance efficiency, including the installation of a single-point roof-lifting system and an integrated gantry, reducing the need for manual intervention and shortening maintenance downtime.
The AIST award recognizes improvements in operational reliability and performance in iron and steel production. The project will be presented at the AISTech conference in Pittsburgh in May.
NLMK Indiana produces hot-rolled and value-added steel products for sectors including pipe and tube, energy, construction and automotive. NLMK Indiana produces 2.7 mln tons of steel annually.