Turkish steel producer Kardemir has announced that it has launched its upgraded converter No. 2 and its new lime plant. With the new upgrade in which the company has invested TRY 50 million ($8.64 million), the converter’s annual capacity will increase by 297,000 mt. In addition, the infrastructure at the meltshop has been upgraded in line with the new production capacity of 3.5 million mt per year.
Kardemir has installed a new 425 mt/day capacity lime plant to comply with the increased capacity, while it has eliminated a 260 mt/day lime plant capacity. The company said it has invested TRY 10 million ($1.73 million) in the new plant that has recently been put into operation.
Commenting on the investment process, Kardemir managing director Dr. Hüseyin Soykan said that the company has changed its steelmaking methods after privatization, while recalling that it has stopped the steelmaking process at its Siemens Martin furnaces and has started producing steel with oxygen converters. “The most important thing is that we are able to upgrade our equipment and increase our capacity with our own effort, our project crew, our engineering and design abilities and the manufacturing capability of our subsidiaries. We have equipped this plant with systems required for high value-added steel manufacturing in particular. We have also decreased our steelmaking time. Our company just built a brand new converter with a capacity of 120 mt per day in just 124 days. We have upgraded the whole infrastructure at our meltshop,” said Mr. Soykan.