Furnace Building Ceremony for New No. 1 Blast Furnace at Wakayama Steel Works

Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd. (Sumitomo Metals) held a furnace building ceremony (Koteire Ceremony) today for its New No.1 Blast Furnace at the Wakayama Steel Works.

Since the commencement of work in November 2006, construction has been performed smoothly on schedule and the steel shell for the blast furnace has been installed. A Koteire Ceremony is an event to commemorate the beginning of the brickwork furnace building, in which prayers are offered for safe construction and good performance of the furnace: smooth start-up, longevity and stable operation.

The No. 4 Blast Furnace at the Wakayama Steel Works has been running since February 1982 for over 26 years, the longest duration in the world. It will be replaced by the New No.1 Blast Furnace.

The blowing-in ceremony is scheduled for July 2009.

1. Summary of Construction
(1) Construction cost: 51 billion yen
(2) Construction period: November 2006 - July 2009
(3) Capacity: 7,500 tons/day
(4) Inner volume: 3,700 ㎥
(5) Overall width: 12.5 m
(6) Number of tuyeres: 34
(7) Number of tap holes: 4
(8) Bricks used: Approx. 22, 000 tons

2. Features
(1) Measures to extend duration of operation
Similar to the No. 1 Blast Furnace at the Kashima Steel Works, we plan to run the New No.1 Blast Furnace for more than 25 years. The furnace has been designed by our using various long-accumulated technologies for maintenance and analysis.

(2) Capacity expansion of crude steel production
The New No. 1 Blast Furnace with an inner volume of 3,700 m3 will replace the No. 4 Blast Furnace which has an inner volume of 2,700 m3. By this switching, crude steel production volume at the Wakayama Steel Works will be 4.5 million tons per year.

3. Investments in upgrading upstream processes of the Wakayama Steel Works
At Wakayama Steel Works, we are upgrading upstream processes, with main investments in construction of a new No. 1 blast furnace (expected operation start, July 2009), a No. 1 coke oven (planned operation start, June 2009), and an increased capacity of a sintering plant (planned completion in December 2008). We are also reinforcing environmental protection investments such as by increasing capacity of a Coke Dry Quenching (CDQ) unit. Total investment amount: 160 billion yen.

In October 2007, we decided to construct a new No. 2 blast furnace (expected operation start October 2012) in order to replace the No. 5 Blast Furnace currently in operation. It will be a twin furnace to the New No. 1 Furnace, built to the same specifications. By sharing operational know-how and spare parts, stable operation and cost reduction are expected to be realized. Simultaneously, steelmaking facilities will be reinforced. Total investment amount: 115 billion yen.

Investments as stated above will enable us to have a capacity of 5.2 million metric tons of crude steel production and prosper in the community of Wakayama.

(Reference)
1. Koteire-Ceremony for the New No.1 Blast Furnace
(1) Time and date: Starting at 10:40 a.m. on Wednesday, October 1, 2008
(2) Ceremony organizer: Kazuo Tanakamaru, Managing Executive Officer and General Manager of the Wakayama Steel Works
(3) Attendees: About 140 people including the president and chairman and other directors of Sumitomo Metals, labor union representatives, representatives of affiliates, the Governor of Wakayama Prefecture, the Mayor of Wakayama City, and representatives of construction-related companies

2. Operating conditions of Sumitomo Metals' blast furnaces (plan for July 2009)

 

 

New No.1 Blast Furnace at the Wakayama Steel Works under construction