West Chester, Ohio-based AK Steel announced Monday that the its new 175-ton capacity electric arc furnace (EAF) at its Butler, Pennsylvania Works plant melted its first heat of steel on March 4. The new EAF is capable of melting 1.4 million tons annually or about 40 percent more than the total capacity of the previous three-furnace operations.
The company also reported that a new ladle metallurgy furnace (LMF) at the Butler plant has begun processing molten steel. The addition of the new EAF and LMF was a part of the $180 million investment AK Steel has made over the past several years-most of the capital invested was for projects at Butler Works.
"The successful start-up of our new EAF and LMF represents completion of the most significant capital investment by AK Steel in recent years," said James L. Wainscott, chairman, president and CEO of AK Steel. "The new furnaces will enable us to lower production costs, increase steelmaking capacity, and improve the quality of all of Butler Works' products."