Tata Steel's ’G' blast furnace makes strong comeback

Tata Steel’s ‘G’ blast furnace makes strong comeback

After an extensive overhaul that began on December 3, 2004, Tata Steel restarted its ’G' Blast Furnace on April 6, 2005. The ’G' furnace, Tata's largest, operated for 12 years before the upgrade. During that time, it churned out a total of 14 million metric tons of hot rolled steel. Now, the upgraded furnace has a design capacity of 1.8 million metric tons per year and is expected to remain in operation for the next 15 years. The upgrade brings Tata's total annual production capacity to 7 million metric tons. Germany's SMS-Demag performed the upgrade. The project cost Rupees 5.8 billion ($132.5 million). In addition to the increased capacity, the furnace will produce better quality products at a lower cost. Tata also plans to phase its No. 3 Sinter Plant into operation next month. The plant is currently running trial operations. Furthermore, construction on an additional rebar mill should be completed in the coming months.