Universal Stainless & Alloy Products Inc. has announced that it will invest USD 13 million in its Bridgeville melt shop over the next 15 months. The capital improvement will include major upgrades in equipment, automation and plant layout designed to: cut production cycle times and customer lead times; improve on time delivery performance; increase material yields; reduce operating costs; and enhance working capital management. The equipment and infrastructure spending will be completed by the end of 2009 and the automation investment will be completed by the middle of 2010. The major components of the capital improvement include: installation of a newly designed 50tn electric arc furnace shell and purchase of equipment designed to automate certain recurring operating processes; upgrade of the alloy addition equipment at the Argon Oxygen Decarburization unit; addition of new ladle preheating equipment; modification of plant layout and material handling systems within the melt shop and scrap yard to improve product flow; and the implementation of new melting and refining automation software.
