ThyssenKrupp USA steel mill - results of our tour
Apr / 20 / 2010 - ThyssenKrupp USA steel mill - results of our tour
SMU toured the new ThyssenKrupp steel mill in Calvert, Alabama last week - our notes and photos
On Wednesday of last week we visited one half of the world’s newest fully integrated steel facility – the ThyssenKrupp flat rolled & stainless steel plant in Calvert, Alabama. What many don’t necessarily realize is there is another half to this project which is the CSA plant in Sepetiba, RJ, Brazil. Combined the TK investment in these two plants is reaching close to $12 billion dollars.
The Brazil plant is a 5.0 million metric tons per year slab making facility. The facility consist of a power plant which will generate enough electricity using gas generated from the furnaces to power the plant and have 20% left over which will be sold back to the state of Rio de Janeiro. The plant has a coke facility, sinter plant, two blast furnaces, two basic oxygen furnace converters(BOF), two continuous casters which will produce high-quality slabs for shipment to the Alabama facility (primary) and to Germany (secondary option). The facility is located on the Atlantic Ocean and has its own unique port facility which has berth facilities located far into the Atlantic Ocean yet connected to the shore so slabs can be transported directly from the plant to awaiting vessels.
Once the 75,000 ton vessels reach Pinto Island just outside of Mobile, the slabs will be transferred directly from the ship to waiting barges which will shuttle between Pinto Island and the unloading facility at the mill. Each barge “tow” will consist of 6-9 barges with 1,500 short tons in each.
The TK plant is located on 3600 acres approximately 40 miles north of Mobile on the Tombigbee River The mill has a total capacity of 5.3 million metric tons (5.84 million short tons) of which 1.0 million will be stainless once the plant is complete and at “steady state.” The balance – or approximately 4.2 million metric tons (4.6 million short tons) will consist of hot rolled, hot rolled pickled & oiled, cold rolled (FH and fully annealed), galvanized, galvanneal, aluminized and Galvalume.
As you look at the aerial photo above the stainless facility is the “U” shaped building on the right. From the bottom of the photo you have the unloading facilities, above that is the slab staging area, from there the slabs move into the reddish brown (warm colors) building which houses the hot strip mill (HSM). After the HSM the material goes into open storage before being moved by cranes into the lighter green and blue building which houses their pickle line and cold mill. The next green/blue building in the sequence will house 3 coating lines for galvanized, galvanneal, aluminized and Galvalume and 1 CAL (continuously anneal line) which will produce fully processed cold rolled.
The photo above is looking at the slab storage area and the building which will house the hot strip mill (HMS) – the reddish/brown building. In the background are the pickle and cold rolling facility then in the background with the green/blue towers are the three coating lines and one continuous anneal cold rolled line (2 lines per building).
Changes to the Original Plan
At this time, the expected start-up of the hot strip mill is late June. There is still a lot of work to be done but adjustments to the schedule are being measured in short increments – days as opposed to months.
When ground was broke back in 2007 no one anticipated the financial collapse which occurred in September 2008. The changes to the size and scope of the domestic steel business have altered the timing for a number of pieces of equipment. The largest being the electric arc furnace (EAF) which will be part of the stainless facility. Other changes were made to the original plan:
Installation of furnace #3 at the hot strip mill.
The building housing coating lines #2 & 4 was made shorter.
One galvanneal rig (furnace) was removed from the original plan.
The zinc pot was delayed on Line #2 which is now a CAL (cold rolled anneal) line.
The port facility at the mill has not been totally completed. It will be lengthened once the stainless project in Phase 2 is under way.
The official “social building” which will house the head quarters has been put off.
Even with the scaling back of the project the size and scope of the site is impressive. We toured the port facility, the HSM mill from the beginning to end, the cold mill and pickling line and two of the four coating lines (one coating line is now a CAL line). All are being constructed simultaneously and SMU was told there were up to 5,500 workers on the job site at the peak.
The first two coating lines which are due to come online later this year and into early 2011 are lines #1 and #1 which are housed next to one another in one building. Lines #2 (CAL) and #4 are housed in a second building located adjacent to lines #1 & #3.
TK Mill Capabilities
As with any new project the final determination as to the abilities of the equipment will be finalized during the commissioning process of each line. SMU was asked recently how long will the commissioning process take – the individual asking was under the impression the mill has the potential to ramp up to capacity very quickly. We did not discuss the exact schedule with TK personnel (let me rephrase – SMU asked and TK was not willing to publically discuss their commissioning and ramp-up schedule). What we were able to determine was the mill has orders on the books to accommodate part of the commissioning process. There were approximately 10,000 metric tons of slabs on the ground in Alabama with another 10,000 tons due in shortly and they are in the process of scheduling a third order with the mill in Germany for additional tons.
The CRU published the number of tons expected to be produced by TK during the remainder of this year was 350,000 tons. SMU did ask TK management if this was an accurate assessment and their response was the exact number could not be determined until the equipment was running but their feeling was the CRU assessment was a bit “shy” of their projections.
Hot Strip Mill
Capacity: 5.3 million metric tons per year = 5.84 million short tons per year.
Thickness Range: .0059” – 1.0” (1.5mm-25.4mm). The mill will be able to produce 1.0” coils.
Width Range: 31.5” – 73.6” (800mm – 1,870mm).
Note: Can produce 1000 P.I.W. coils. Uses CVC technology (S-shaped work rolls) in order to produce a negative crown, neutral crown or positive crown on their coils.
Continuous Pickling Line (HRPO)
Capacity: 1.1 million metric tons per year = 1.2 million short tons.
Thickness Range: .059” - .256” (800mm – 1,870mm).
Width Range: 31.5” – 73.6”.
Note: There is a stretcher leveler in the entry section. Can produce 39.7 short ton coils (79,400#). The line also has their own dedicated slitting line capable of slitting the full range of products coming off the pickle mill. In line side trimmer.
Continuous Pickling Line with Tandem Cold Mill (CRFH)
Capacity: 2.1 million metric tons per year = 2.3 million short tons.
Thickness Range: .012” - .118” (0.3mm – 3.0mm).
Width Range: 31.5” – 73.6” (800mm – 1,870mm).
Note: In line stretcher leveler. Laser welder. 5-stand, 4-high CVC plus technology with roll bending. In line side trimmer. Can produce 36 metric ton max coil weight (39.68 short ton coil = 79,366#).
Hot Dip Galvanizing Line #1
Capacity: 500,000 tons per year. 400,000 projected to be GA (galvanneal) and 100,000 GI (galvanized).
Thickness Range: .020” - .091” (0.50mm – 2.30mm).
Width Range: 36.2” – 72.8” (trimmed).
Qualities: EDDS, DDS, DS, CS, FS, SS, BH, HSLAS, DP (Extra Deep Drawing Steels, Deep Drawing Steels, Drawing Steels, Commercial Steels, Forming Steels, Structural Steels, Bake Hardenable, High Strength Low Alloy Steels, Dual Phase).
Continuous Anneal Line (CR) #2
Capacity: 700,000 tons per year.
Thickness Range: .020” - .091” (0.50mm – 2.30mm).
Width Range: 36.2” – 72.8” (trimmed).
Qualities: EDDS, DDS, DS, CS, FS, SS, BH, HSLAS, DP.
Product- fully processed (annealed) cold rolled either exposed or non-exposed applications.
Hot Dip Galvanizing Line #3
Capacity: 450,000 tons per year. 150,000 tons of GA (galvanneal) and 300,000 tons of GI (galvanized).
Thickness Range: .020” - .098” (0.50mm – 2.50mm).
Width Range: 31.5” – 65” (800mm – 1670mm).
Qualities: EDDS, DDS, DS, CS, FS, SS, BH, HSLAS, DP.
Hot Dip Galvanizing, Aluminized, Galvalume Line #4
Capacity: 550,000 tons per year. 250,000 tons of GI (galvanized) 150,000 tons AL (aluminized) and 150,000 tons of AZ (Galvalume).
Thickness Range: Galvanized = .012” - .0079” (0.30mm – 2.00mm). Aluminized = .016” - .079” (0.4mm – 2.00mm). Galvalume = .012” - .0079” (0.30mm – 2.00mm).
Qualities: EDDS, DDS, DS, CS, FS, SS, BH, HSLAS.
Note: GI and AL for unexposed parts. AZ not noted. The line will have the ability to treat the steel with passivation (chem. Treat), phosphate or acrylic. There is a skin-pass mill which can run .012” to .118”. There are also two inspection and slitting lines which can run the full range of product.
Notes SMU Made During Tour
First, having been to a number of older steel plants around the world – the TK plant is spectacular and will be even more so once the construction traffic ends and they can do some landscaping around the buildings. Seeing the colors used on each of the buildings is a treat.
We were surprised to see there is no rail into the plant right now – although the rail line does run beside the property.
Export is part of the commercial plan with the focus being on NAFTA countries. SMU asked if TK is going to limit export business to their sister trading company and the answer was “no.” Other trading companies will have an opportunity to work with TK on their export opportunities.
Primary markets when the mill first comes up are service center and pipe and tube. Others will be construction and construction equipment as well as appliance.
The projected build plan until they reach “steady state” will be around two years.
Automotive will be one of the primary focus of the mill and TK anticipates 40% of their business will ultimately be in the automotive sector.
Side Note: SMU drove by the brand new Kia plant in Georgia as well as the Hyundai plant in Alabama on my way to TK’s facility. Later in the week we drove by the Mercedes plant – also located in Alabama. There is a new VW plant being built in Chattanooga, Tennessee (which we missed on this trip).
The exact timing of how long it will take to get automotive approval on the TK product is not yet known. One issue they have is they will be using German slabs at first and then transitioning over to the Brazil plants slabs later this year. Usually automotive requires the source of slab (Brazil) be part of the approval process.
