Nucor places order with Concast AG for new Jewett minimill
Largest US steel producer Nucor Corp. will construct a new minimill at its plant in Jewett, Texas and with this purpose has placed an order with Concast AG. The order includes an AC electric arc furnace, twin-station ladle furnace and a 4/5 strand continuous casting machine with an annual capacity to produce 900'000 tons of billets and light blooms. The new facility will produce a wide range of section sizes and steel grades, and the caster will incorporate the main provisions for Special Bar Quality steel grades, should Nucor choose to add these grades in the future. The new project will allow extremely fast melting cycle. The ladle furnace is designed to perform full refining activities within the limited time frame imposed by the rapid melting cycle of the EAF. A twin-ladle furnace design is selected which will significantly reduce the ladle-handling time. The four-strand Nucor-Jewett caster can be expanded to five strands and features Concast's Convex Technology. Seven different section sizes are planned to be produced. The caster's output of 130 tons/hour is tuned to match the high performance of the meltshop furnaces. The Nucor-Jewett plant aims to raise quality and productivity of long products with the new minimill to be made by Concast.