SeverCorr launches melt shop and hot mill operations

SeverCorr, America’s newest steel-producing company, has taken a major step toward full operations. In the last week, the facility’s melt shop, caster and hot mill in Columbus, Miss., have begun producing hot-rolled steel coils.

John Correnti, chief executive officer of SeverCorr, said, “This is the announcement we’ve been eagerly waiting to make since the idea of building a steel mill began four years ago. To be able to say we are making steel less than two years after breaking ground is a testament to the dedication and hard work of the entire SeverCorr team – our equity partners, lenders, equipment partners, construction crews and contractors, and most importantly, the men and women who have joined SeverCorr.”

Designed for producing high-quality exposed steels, the SeverCorr melt shop utilizes an electric arc furnace (EAF) capable of melting 1.7 million tons of steel annually. Its 265-ton furnace capacity with 165 tons tapped into a ladle minimizes slag carryover. The melt shop also has a ladle metallurgy furnace (LMF) with a state-of-the-art alloy feed system which allows for faster processing time.

With a 740-inch mold, SeverCorr’s caster is the widest of any continuous strip production system in North America. The company’s ability to produce superior surface quality is, in part, accomplished by an electromagnetic brake that controls liquid steel fluid flow into the mold and a direct drive hydraulic oscillator. The six-stand 74-inch-wide hot mill will initially produce over 1.5 million tons of high-quality steels a year in phase one of operations, of which 350,000 tons will be available for direct sale to customers in a gauge range of .054 to .500 inches. The balance of the hot bands will be further processed into hot roll pickled and oiled products, cold roll products, and substrate for the facility’s galvanizing line which will be brought on-line in coming months.

A unique feature of SeverCorr’s hot mill is edge masking on the run-out table, which minimizes the amount of cooling water to come in contact with the hot band edges. This facilitates improved uniform cooling of the coiled hot band and better shape flatness. A differential tension looper allows the hot mill operator to correct shape flatness in the last rolling stand – another equipment feature not found in other steel mills in North America.

Other features include CVC roll bending/shifting and hydraulic AGC to more precisely control flatness and coil thickness respectively.

“Of course we are proud to be able to say we are now truly in the steel-making business,” Mike Wagner, chief commercial officer of SeverCorr, said, “But there is so much more to this announcement for us and for our team members. We know that together we are re-defining the steel industry in not only our equipment and manufacturing but through our sales and customer service processes. We are now living our mission of being the next-generation in steel.”

Construction of the SeverCorr facility has been one of the largest projects in the southern United States in recent years. Plans for an additional construction phase to expand capacity are currently in development.

About SeverCorr LLC
SeverCorr was formed in 2003 to design, engineer, build and operate a state-of-the-art steel facility to service growing manufacturing opportunities in the Southern United States. In October 2005, SeverCorr broke ground on a next-generation steel mill near Columbus, Miss. When complete in the third-quarter of 2007, the plant will produce 1.5 million tons of high-quality steels a year for use in the automotive, building, agricultural, pipe & tube, and appliance industries. A unique feature of the company is its 1400-acre mega-site, which has been designed to accommodate production partners and related manufacturers onsite.