Indiana-based Steel Dynamics, a domestic steel producer and metals recycler, recently invested USD $28 million for a reheating furnace and a new finishing area in its Roanoke Bar Division to increase rolling capacity from the current 500,000 tons to over 600,000 tons per year.
The supply package is comprised of a pusher-type high capacity reheating furnace designed to process 140 tons of billets per hour. The plan is to roll the billets into light sections and reinforcing bars from sizes #4 to #11, as well as corresponding round bars.
The objective of the new reheating furnace is not only to increase productivity, but also to improve energy efficiency with the adoption of a smart combustion management system. Commissioning is expected to commence at the end of 2017.