West Chester, Ohio-based flat-rolled steelmaker AK Steel announced Tuesday that its #5 electric arc furnace (EAF) at its Butler, Pennsylvania Works was damaged Friday, July 1, when molten steel inside the furnace breached the furnace shell. Steel production at Butler Works resumed the following day utilizing other electric furnaces at the plant that were not impacted by the incident.
In a press release, AK Steel said that it does not expect any adverse impact to customer shipments resulting from the incident. The company said it was continuing to investigate the root cause of the incident while crews begin to make repairs to the furnace and its auxiliary equipment. At this time, company officials have neither an estimate of the cost nor date for completion of the repairs, which will not impact ongoing operations at the plant.