Metinvest Group’s Zaporizhstal continues to implement its annual capital investment program to support production capacities and environmental protection equipment. The plant has completed a major overhaul of the main production units in the blast furnace, open-hearth furnace and hot rolling mill with a total budget of 370 million hryvnias.
“The domestic mining and metallurgical complex is one of the export-oriented sectors of the Ukrainian economy that lost the most during the war. We are focused on survival – because it is the preserved production that will become the basis for future modernization and development projects. Repairs and proper maintenance of production complexes are an important contribution to ensuring the sustainable operation of Zaporizhstal today and in the future,” noted Acting General Director of Zaporizhstal, Hero of Ukraine Taras Shevchenko.
The plant carried out a complex of repairs in the main production units of the enterprise: blast furnace No. 3 and its gas cleaning, aspiration of the foundry yard and bunker trestle in the blast furnace shop, two-bath steelmaking unit and its gas cleaning in the open-hearth shop, slabbing mill-1150 and BTLS-1680 mill, as well as shears and pincer cranes in the hot rolling shop. The work lasted around the clock, and more than 400 specialists were involved in the repairs: employees of engineering services and production units of Zaporizhstal, specialists from Zaporizhvognetriv, Kametstal and contracting organizations.
At blast furnace No. 3, the coneless charging unit, hydraulic and electrical equipment of the foundry yard, combustion chamber and air heater equipment were repaired, metal structures and charge feed units were inspected and repaired, as well as the rail track of the bunker overpass and skip elevator, etc. The blast furnace gas cleaning mechanisms, dust collector, and air ducts in the aspiration section were serviced to ensure high efficiency of dust cleaning of process air at a level of 20 mg/cubic meter.
As part of the repair of the two-bath steelmaking unit, the main vault and the furnace working space were relined. For this, the Zaporizhvognetriv plant supplied over 800 tons of refractory chamotte and periclase-chromite products. Also, the DSA-1 supporting metal structures were inspected, repaired and partially replaced, and the main gas treatment units were serviced: cyclones, irrigation systems, gas ducts, etc.
On the slabbing-1150 mill, the universal stand and its electric drive, roller tables, pressure units of horizontal and vertical rolls, rotary table units with platform replacement were repaired, the electrical and power equipment of the mill was inspected, control panels were repaired, etc. On the BTLS-1680 mill, specialists inspected and updated the units of the roughing and finishing groups of stands, the intermediate rewinding device “Coil-box”, roller tables, repaired the units of the machine room units and the units of the winding section, communication networks, electric motors, etc.
The major repairs carried out are aimed at increasing the reliability and efficiency of the units, reducing the level of product defects and energy losses. We remind you that this year Zaporizhstal will also carry out a complex of major repairs of the key units of the thermal power plant – boiler unit No. 5, turbogenerator No. 1 and turbocompressor unit No. 7. For these purposes, the plant has allocated about 75 million hryvnias in investments. In general, despite the difficult economic situation, in 2025 the capital investment budget will amount to more than 1 billion hryvnias. (Zaporizhstal)