Big River Steel launches second phase of its steel mill

American steelmaker Big River Steel has successfully commissioned the second phase of its steel mill in Osceola, Arkansas, supplied by SMS group.

Also for the expansion of the plant, which will increase the annual production capacity of the plant to approximately three million tons of steel, SMS group supplied mechanical equipment, electrical and automation systems, and digitization technology.

Now that the second phase of construction has been completed, Big River Steel operates two electric arc furnaces and two double ladle furnaces. As part of the project, the steel plant was also equipped with an additional gas cleaning system. At CSP ®, a second casting strand, a second tunnel oven and another decoiler were added. Big River Steel CSP® produces rolls up to 1930mm wide, making it one of the widest CSP® plants in the world.

Commenting on the project, Burkhard Damen, Chairman of the Management Board of SMS group, said: “Despite the limitations of the measures taken to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, we were able to complete the installation and commissioning of new systems about two months earlier than originally planned. ... This was made possible primarily by the excellent cooperation based on mutual trust between the BRS and SMS group teams. "

The PQA (Product Quality Analyzer) system from SMS group is at the heart of the process automation implemented in the first stage, as well as the automation of newly added devices and systems. PQA ® monitors, documents and ensures quality throughout the entire production process right down to the finished cold rolled strip.

As part of the expansion, another coil preparation station was added to the inlet end of the PLTCM, and the adjacent continuous galvanizing line received an additional decoiler on the outlet. For all newly installed plants, SMS group supplied mechanical equipment as well as X-Pact® electrical and automation systems, including level 3.

Since commissioning a new mill in December 2016, Big River Steel has been producing high quality steels, including pipe sheets for pipeline construction, silicon steels for a wide range of power and motor applications, and advanced high strength steels. steel for the US automotive industry.