Fives Stein will deliver its new Digit@l Furnace® to Usiminas’ plate mill in Ipatinga, Brazil. The scope of supply includes a walking-beam furnace with associated charging and discharging machines, the water plant and mixing station. The furnace will reheat slabs at a nominal rate of 130 tons/hour. Fives Stein will also implement its Level 2 system on two existing furnaces in an effort to synchronize the furnaces for optimum production while enabling Usiminas to process high-quality-steel plate.

In addition to its heating uniformity and low-NOx emissions, the Digit@l Furnace is designed to work with various mixed gases and to adapt to many different calorific values. Usiminas, which has a total capacity of 9.5 million metric tons of steel per year, accounts for about 30% of total steel output in Brazil. The new furnace helps the company increase capacity at its plate mill in Ipatinga.