Ugine & ALZ Genk, Belgium, recently produced 404 heats of approximately 120 tonnes per heat in 14 days. Production for this period averaged nearly 29 heats per day – a new record for stainless steel productivity. This achievement was performed just 16 months after the integrated performance test. Voest-Alpine Industrieanlagenbau (VAI) supplied new equipment to ALZ, consisting of an electric arc furnace, converter revamp, and a revamp of the existing single-strand slab caster. With this investment Ugine & ALZ Belgium doubled its annual production capacity from 600,000 to 1,200,000 tonnes. After the new steel-making facilities were installed, the existing casting machine and converter had to be replaced within a comprehensive shutdown period of only 3 weeks. Integrated workshop assembly prior to shipment was carried out to ensure rapid and smooth project implementation. As a result of the excellent co-operation between Ugine & ALZ Belgium and VAI, the stainless steel caster was successfully started up in fully automatic mode one day ahead of the end of the planned shut-down period. Installation of the 120-tonne EAF No. 2 and revamp of the MRP converter into an AOD converter, together with the existing 120-tonne EAF1 and two VODs make Ugine & ALZ Belgium the plant with the world’s largest annual stainless steel output over one caster.
