Japanese steel producer JFE Steel Corporation announced today, June 16, that it has finished construction of its new single-strand continuous slab casting machine and that the new continuous caster No. 7 has been put into operation.
JFE also said that it has commissioned a new slab scarfing machine at the No. 3 steelmaking plant of the company's Fukuyama area.
Meanwhile, JFE Steel stated that it has decided to revamp its blast furnace No. 2 at the West Japan Works (Fukuyama), which has been idled since February 2009. The JPY 29 billion revamping, which is scheduled to start in January 2011 and be completed by May 2011, will increase the inner volume of the blast furnace from 3,223 m3 to 4,300 m3.
JFE Steel has also increased the capacity of its No. 5 RH degasser, located adjacent to the new No. 7 continuous caster.
The investments in question are implemented in line with JFE Steel's efforts to reach an annual crude steel production capacity of 33 million metric tons.