German Salzgitter Group's Peine, Germany-based subsidiary Peiner Träger GmbH (PTG) has announced that on March 22 it commenced the run-up procedure as scheduled in readiness to operate both its electric arc furnaces (EAFs) in tandem.
The second new EAF was switched on at 18.00 on March 22, marking the first time both furnaces have worked together. The second furnace has almost doubled PTG's previous smelting capacity of one million mt.
Thanks to its new capacity, PTG and its sister plant HSP Hoesch Spundwand und Profil GmbH in Dortmund will no longer be dependent on buying in external supplies of steel. In addition, some of the steel output will be consumed in Salzgitter and Ilsenburg since PTG also possesses a facility to produce slabs since February 2010. Flexibility in the supply of the Salzgitter group's input stock will be greatly increased.