Russian steelmaker Severstal has announced that it has begun construction of a second ladle furnace at its Cherepovets steel mill. The new furnace will have a capacity of 4.8 million mt per year. Record annual converter steel production at Cherepovets currently stands at 9.5 million mt. Completion of the furnace is scheduled for the end of 2017.
“The estimated cost of the project is around RUB 3 billion ($45.22 million). Increasing production capacity by building a second ladle furnace will ensure that 100 percent of the smelting furnace treatment takes place within one unit. This will significantly reduce costs and improve product quality. It is estimated that the project will generate cost savings of around RUB 700 million ($10.54 million) per year,” stated Sergey Toropov, CEO of Severstal’s Russian Steel division.