Danieli has been selected to provide equipment for a special bar quality minimill in Memphis, Tenn. Danieli will help revive the idled Memphis plant that Nucor acquired with its purchase of Birmingham Steel Corp. in December 2002. The new plant will incorporate the complete SBQ bar production cycle, from melting, secondary refining and continuous round bloom casting to hot rolling, in-line inspection and cold finishing. Start-up of the new steelmaking/casting facilities is scheduled for the first quarter of 2008, with the rolling mill scheduled to start up in the second quarter of 2008.
The upgraded rolling mill will produce 57- to 230-mm-diameter finished rounds and equivalent squares as well as 305-mm and 203-mm semifinished squares for re-rolling. Danieli will supply technological equipment for the meltshop and rolling mill, including an advanced Danieli Automation Level 1 and 2 automation system for the whole plant, as well as the electrical equipment for the meltshop and caster.