In celebration of the 80th anniversary of the JSC "Zaporizhstal," a jubilee smelting of steel was conducted in the open-hearth plant, attended by various dignitaries and factory veterans.
November 15, 2013, marked a historic occasion as the Chief Executive Officer of "Zaporizhstal" JSC, Rostyslav Shurma, alongside representatives of regional authorities, factory workers, and veterans of the open-hearth shop, participated in the commemorative melting of steel.
Before the anniversary melting, the General Director of "Zaporizhstal" delivered a heartfelt message congratulating the veterans. He stated, "Today we are present at the historic event. This event is the celebration of our achievements and at the same time a tribute to the work of our veterans who dedicated their lives to the mill. Today's 80th anniversary will be the last anniversary smelting in the open-hearth shop. After this, we have plans for modernization and the introduction of new technologies, including the construction of the oxygen-converter shop. Today, the open-hearth furnace has smelted around 238 million tons of steel, and with the transition to converter production, this figure has already reached about 250 million tons."
The open-hearth production facility at JSC "Zaporizhstal" has been operational since 1935, with a capacity to produce approximately 4 million tons of steel per year. Notably, the shop is managed by members from more than 20 labor dynasties.
In efforts to enhance production efficiency, several projects have been implemented in the open-hearth shop. For example, the metal stock indices have been reduced from 1183 kg/tonne in July 2012 to 1104 kg/t in September 2013. The plant has also achieved significant energy efficiency by decreasing natural gas consumption in the open-hearth shop by 36%, from 43 cu. M/tonne in 2012 to 27 cu. M/tonne in September 2013, through the introduction of fuel-free blowing technology.
The open-hearth shop comprises 8 open-hearth furnaces and 1 double-bath steelmaking unit. During the production process, steel is poured into molds, forming ingots that weigh up to 16 tonnes, which are then utilized to produce coils and sheet products. The open-hearth furnace's annual production capacity remains around 4 million tons of steel.