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Furnace Reference Lists | |
The value in refractory linings are less in the properties you can read in a data sheet and more in the performance. GrafTech offers materials and design work as a complete concept for long and trouble-free campaigns for the furnace
operators. See links below for some reference installations in Blast Furnaces and Submerged Arc Furnaces from around the world with an additional list showing you the UCAR® Refractory Systems blast furnace installations in China.
Access the three lists on the page here. |
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GrafTech's 125th Anniversary! | |
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Dear Newsletter Reader,
You are now one of 1,934 subscribing to our Newsletter, the number is steadily increasing and we take that as a sign that its content is worth reading, even for a busy professional in the 21st century. As some of you might know, we are celebrating, together with Coca-Cola, Mercedes Benz, Alcoa and a handful of other companies, our 125th anniversary this year. Some of the content of this Newsletter will reflect this. Other subjects in this issue will be stories about the production records of a leading Mexican iron maker, a hearth lining decision in Chile and two great conferences where we participated; one in Goa, India, the other in Shanghai, China. We would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy Holiday Season.
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New AHMSA Blast Furnace Exceeding Expectations
Mexican steelmaker, AHMSA set several monthly production records in July this year, with the company's new blast furnace exceeding its targeted daily output. (Source: Steel Business Briefing)
The firm's new No. 6 BF in Monclova, Coahuila, part of AHMSA's Fénix project, exceeded its 4,000 tonnes/day nominal production capacity by producing 4,206 t/day for a total monthly output of 130,372 t. This is 9% above the target.
AHMSA is the largest integrated steelmaker in Mexico. It produces mostly flat products, but also some heavy structurals. Its Fénix project should increase its liquid steel capacity to 5.5m t/year. And as we reported to you in Newsletter #14 back in September 2010, the #6 furnace in Monclova is actually the first completely new blast furnace to be constructed in North America in 30 years. The last one was in Ontario, Canada, in 1980. For this new furnace, GrafTech supplied refractories for the hearth pad, wall, tuyere breast, bosh, belly and lower stack. The UCAR® lining was installed in March 2010.
We would like to congratulate AHMSA and its operators for breaking records. And that lining will be there to support you running that blast furnace as fast as you can for many years - the higher the productivity, the more it proves its tremendous value in use. |
The IFAPA Conference in Goa, India
September 18th thru the 20th, the Indian Ferro Alloy Producers Association (IFAPA), celebrated its 50 year anniversary by arranging a conference in Goa, India.
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The photo shows GrafTech Sales Director, Peter Duncanson, when presenting the paper. |
The name of the jubilee was FAI 2100 - Alloying Beyond Borders, and attracted a large number of participants. India is the fifth largest steel producer in the world, the second largest producer of manganese alloys and the third largest chrome alloy producer. The thrust on infrastructural growth in the worlds largest democracy, is expected to give a further boost for domestic steel and ferro alloys demand. Companies presenting papers at this conference included Jindal Stainless (JSL), Tata Steel, Outotec, Elkem Carbon and GrafTech. The GrafTech paper was presented by one of its authors, Mr. Pete Duncanson, and you can read it here.
The paper includes the story of how and why JSL installed the first two complete UCAR® Chillkote™ refractory linings in their 60 MVA furnaces. |
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The MTM Conference in Shanghai
The full name of this event was the 16th Shanghai Metallurgy Expo and it was conducted inside the impressive Shanghai World Expo Theme Pavilion on
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From left to right: Sara Feng, Henry Yu, Lisa Chen, William Sin, Kevin Fenton, and Stephen Zhang |
September 26-28. The number of domestic exhibitors were 463, to that we can add 87 from overseas. This event attracted more than 25,000 visitors, of which several stopped by the GrafTech exhibit booth to discuss graphite electrodes and refractories. In this photo you see the team that they met. Again, it should be noted that in China, UCAR® Refractory System hearths with the unique HotPressed™ Bricks are presently installed in eleven (11) blast furnaces larger than 4,000m³.
Conclusion: Super sized blast furnaces in China rely on the performance of HotPressed™ bricks. Thanks for visiting us in our exhibit and for very good discussions. |
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CAP Chile Hearth Lining Decision
"Our decision to move from the old big block hearth wall concept to the HotPressed™ Brick Technology in the late 90's has led to a dramatic improvement in furnace availability, operation flexibility and lining longevity," says Mr. Pedro Contreras, iron making manager at CAP.
CAP Acero is an integrated steel plant, located in Concepcion, approximately 500km south of Santiago de Chile.
A major portion of their 1.5 million t/year capacity is sold in the domestic market, which has been experiencing significant growth over the past several years.
CAP's iron making structure comprises two blast furnaces, with rated capacities of 1850t/day and 2050t/day. Both BF1 and BF2 have a complete UCAR® hearth & tuyere band. Unfortunately, the tragic earthquake in early 2009 resulted in a long shut down, with severe consequences to the furnaces. GrafTech designed and supplied the necessary products to repair the damaged lining, and both furnaces are back in operation.
As a result of the superior performance of UCAR® Refractory Systems HotPressed™ Brick technology, CAP placed the refractory order for BF2: hearth bottom, hearth wall, iron notch, and tuyere band. The reline project is scheduled for 2012. |
Welcome our New Team Members!
Our refractory business in South Africa keeps growing. In order to better service our customers, Mr. Shaun Botes joined our team in September as REFRACTORIES CTS ENGINEER serving the South Africa market. Shaun comes to us from ArcelorMittal South Africa, where he was a manager in the Refractories department at the Vanderbijlpark Works. Shaun can be emailed directly at shaun.botes@graftech.co.za. We are confident that Shaun's refractory knowledge and field experience will greatly benefit our customers.
Earlier this year, Ms. Judy Newbill joined GrafTech as a CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE in the Refractory Systems sales office in Columbia, Tennessee. Judy brings several years of customer service and quality assurance experience, working for companies such as MARS Petcare U.S. and Metro Door. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Aquinas University and a MBA from Strayer University.
Ms. Karen Pavy joins us as an ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT supporting the Refractory Systems sales office. Karen has 2 kids that keep her busy when she is not juggling GrafTech business. Karen comes to GrafTech from Mapa Spontex, Inc. where she had 11 years of experience as an executive level Administrative Assistant.
Welcome Judy, Shaun and Karen!
 | | From left to right: Judy Newbill, Shaun Botes and Karen Pavy |
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GrafTech, HotPressed, ChillKote, C34, GR37, Grade D, NMA, NMD, RP4, SmartRam, UniGraf, RefractoryFlex, FlexLine, and FlexRepair are all trademarks of GrafTech International Holdings Inc. UCAR® is a registered trademark used under license by GrafTech International Holdings Inc. The information contained in or referred to in this newsletter is based on data believed to be reliable but GrafTech makes no warranties, express or implied, as to its accuracy and assumes no liability arising out of its use. GrafTech's liability to purchasers is expressly limited to the terms and conditions of sale. OSCAR and the OSCAR image are registered trademarks of the Academy of Awards and Sciences. ©2011 GrafTech International Holdings Inc. |
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