AK Steel announced Monday plans to introduce one of the first commercially available Next-Generation Advanced High Strength Steels in the world. The new technology produces significantly improved formability at higher ultimate tensile strength levels, which provides automotive customers greater opportunities for lightweighting.
The $29 million project includes modifying the current Hot Dip Galvanizing Line (HDGL) at AK Steel’s Dearborn Works, using new process technology to produce both coated and cold-rolled Next- Generation Advanced High Strength Steels on the same line. Modification of the HDGL is expected to be completed by the fall of 2016, with new products being shipped to customers by early 2017.
Dearborn Works was selected for this project due to the configuration of its existing galvanizing line and state of the art technology. Commissioned in 2011, the HDGL allows for efficient modifications to produce these Next-Generation Advanced High Strength Steels. The modifications enable AK Steel to install the new technology to produce coated and cold-rolled products at a fraction of the cost of a new production line.