On March 3, Japanese steelmaker Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd. (Sumitomo Metals), a member of the diversified Sumitomo Corporation, has received the 57th Okochi Memorial Foundation Production Prize for its "development of technologies that extend the campaign life of blast furnaces."
Pointing out that the inner conditions of a blast furnace used to be a "black box", Sumitomo Metals stated that it has developed simulation technologies which enable inner conditions to be quantitatively evaluated. "Thanks to operational and repair technologies based on such evaluation, the Wakayama Steel Works' No. 4 blast furnace was commended for achieving the world's longest continuous operation of 10,001 days with 27 years and four months," the company said.
The award on this occasion has resulted in Sumitomo Metals receiving the Okochi Memorial Foundation Prize for all the processes (i.e., blast furnace, steelmaking, manufacturing mill, and products) that are related to manufacturing of seamless pipes.
The Okochi Memorial Foundation Prize recognizes notable contributions in the areas of production engineering, production technology research and development, and the implementation of high-level production methods in Japan.