Steel Mills
NLMK USA Expects 7-10 Day Unplanned Outage at Farrell HSM
Written by Michael Cowden
May 11, 2021
NLMK USA is taking an unplanned seven- to 10-day outage on the hot-strip mill at its facility in Farrell, Pa., a company executive said.
The repairs are necessary because a motor failed on the reversing roughing mill, NLMK USA Executive Vice President James Banker told Steel Market Update on Tuesday, May 11.
The company will therefore pull forward planned maintenance on the hot-strip mill that had been scheduled for June. The repairs will result in hot-rolled coil orders being delayed by approximately two weeks, he said.
“We’ll be caught up by June. And we’ll be prioritizing orders that are affected by this outage,” Banker said.
Shipments of downstream pickled-and-oiled (P&O), cold-rolled and coated products should not be impacted because those lines already had work-in-process inventory on hand, he said.
While the June outage on the hot-strip mill has been pulled forward, planned outages on downstream operations remain scheduled for July, Banker said.
The Farrell mill, like NLMK’s electric-arc furnace (EAF) steel mill in Portage, Ind., typically takes one week of downtime for major planned maintenance every six months, he noted.
Also known as NLMK Pennsylvania, the Farrell mill is the company’s largest plant in the U.S. Farrell’s hot-strip mill has annual capacity of 1.8 million tons, according to the Association for Iron and Steel Technology’s 2021 Directory of Iron and Steel plants. NLMK USA sells hot-rolled coil, hot-rolled P&O, cold-rolled coil, and galvanized products to service centers as well as a range of end-use markets, including HVAC, appliance, and pipe and tube.
NLMK’s Sharon Coating facility, located in nearby Sharon, Pa., makes galvanized and galvannealed products.
By Michael Cowden, Michael@SteelMarketUpdate.com
Michael Cowden
Read more from Michael CowdenLatest in Steel Mills
AHMSA opens doors to potential buyers as $1.3B asset auction nears
AHMSA is opening its doors to potential buyers to tour its steel plant and mining operations in northern Mexico in preparation for the next stage of its bankruptcy process: the auction of its assets.
USW seeks clarity on USS plans for Granite City Works
The United Steelworkers union has asked U.S. Steel to elaborate on its Granite City Works plans following reports that the steelmaker is ending processing at the facility.
Nucor maintains plate prices, opens October order book
Nucor aims to keep plate prices flat for a seventh straight month with the opening of its October order book.
ArcelorMittal Mexico to import from sister mills as it works to resume DRI production
ArcelorMittal has partially restarted operations at its direct reduction plant in Lazaro Cardenas, Michoacan. An explosion on Aug. 18 rocked the massive steelworks on Mexico’s Pacific coast, impacting production of direct-reduced iron (DRI).
Fall maintenance outages are coming in hot
Labor Day has passed, the sun is starting to set a little earlier each day, and cooler weather has begun to find its way down to many of us across North America. And you know what that means for the steel industry… Fall maintenance outages!