Steel Mills

AK Steel Ashland Blast Furnace Down
Written by John Packard
February 25, 2014
AK Steel has lost their Ashland, Kentucky blast furnace. The furnace, which is called Amanda, is rated at 6,000 net tons per day according to AIST data.
According to customers of AK Steel, the company found a crack in the bottom of the furnace and the expected repairs are expected to take three weeks. When asked to comment on the problem or status of the repairs an AK Steel spokesperson had “no comment.”
The company is expected to lose somewhere around 100,000+ tons of pig iron production due to this issue.
The company issued the following statement in an 8-K filing on the AK Steel website:
“On February 22, 2014, AK Steel experienced an incident at the Company’s blast furnace in Ashland, Kentucky that has temporarily resulted in an unplanned outage of that furnace. There were no injuries in connection with this incident. The Company continues to assess the situation and investigate the root cause of the incident. In the meantime, the Company has begun repairs to bring the furnace back into production as soon as possible. Prior to the completion of those repairs, the Company will utilize its Middletown Works blast furnace and its Butler Works electric arc furnace, as well as purchase merchant carbon slabs, to service its customers.”
AK Steel has not been a large player in the spot markets since the company’s other blast furnace located in Middletown, Ohio had an issue during the summer 2013.

John Packard
Read more from John PackardLatest in Steel Mills

Cleveland-Cliffs quietly removes name from Steelton mill
The Cleveland-Cliffs name has been removed from its idled Steelton rail mill. SMU asked Cliffs about the move and if it might signal that it is selling the mill...

Nucor sees sequentially lower Q3 profits across all three business segments
Nucor's third-quarter earnings will be down quarter-over-quarter, but still higher than a year earlier.

Hyundai still on for Louisiana steel mill despite US raid at Georgia battery plant
Hyundai has reaffirmed its commitment to build a steel plant in Louisiana following a US government immigration raid at its battery facility in Georgia.

Hybar lowers output forecast, owning up to EAF startup delay
Hybar LLC’s rebar mill in Osceola, Ark., is now melting scrap and will soon be fulfilling orders, according to CEO David Stickler, despite a six-to-eight-week delay caused by commissioning the world’s first Aura electrical system.

Steel Dynamics guides to more metal, more money in Q3
Steel Dynamics Inc. is bullish heading into the close of the third quarter, with all three of its operating segments tracking higher.