SMS group will supply a secondary copper smelter to Ames Copper Group, a joint venture between Prime Materials Recovery Inc. and Cunext Group, for its facilities in North Carolina. The plant, which is scheduled to start up in 2021, will produce up to 50,000 tons of copper anodes annually. It will be the first secondary copper recycling facility in the United States to produce copper anodes from copper scrap and copper fines. SMS group’s scope of supply will include a tilting refining furnace, anode casting wheel, gas cleaning system, and electric and automation systems. In addition to the equipment supply, SMS will provide technical assistance for installation and start-up. The plant will be prepared for a future upgrade with additional digitalization features.

If you’re at all like me, you wonder which articles get the most attention on our website. Every year we publish around 45 feature articles, and at the end of the year we gather statistics to see which ones get the most page views. So, without further ado, here are the five most-viewed articles on www.industrialheating.com based on page views. This ranking applies only to articles published in 2020.

Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH, the largest steel subsidiary in the Salzgitter Group, commissioned Tenova to build a demonstration plant for the production of direct reduced iron (DRI) using up to 100% hydrogen as a reducing agent. The plant is based on ENERGIRON technology and will be installed at the Salzgitter steel mill in Salzgitter, Germany. The plant will have a nominal production capacity of 100 kg/h and will be operated with hydrogen and natural gas. The DRI produced will be used in the blast-furnace process to save injected coal and in the electric-arc furnace (EAF) of the Peine plant.

Commercial Metals Company announced that its micro-mill in Mesa, Ariz., CMC Steel Arizona, has started receiving renewable energy from Salt River Project's (SRP) new Saint Solar electricity-generation plant. CMC Steel Arizona was one of the original customers to join the first phase of SRP's Sustainable Energy program, which was announced in 2018. The Saint Solar plant, located in Coolidge, Ariz., is a 100-megawatt utility-based solar array that will provide renewable energy to CMC Steel Arizona and others in the SRP community. Constructed in 2009, CMC Steel Arizona utilizes scrap-based electric-arc furnace (EAF) technology to produce steel.

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. successfully completed the acquisition of substantially all of the operations of ArcelorMittal USA LLC and its subsidiaries, forming the largest flat-rolled steel producer in North America. In connection with the acquisition of ArcelorMittal USA, which includes the interests of ArcelorMittal USA of 60% in I/N Tek L.P. and 50% in I/N Kote L.P., Cleveland-Cliffs also acquired Nippon Steel’s remaining interests of 50% in I/N Kote and 40% in I/N Tek for a total consideration of approximately $183 million. With this additional transaction, Cleveland-Cliffs becomes the sole owner of 100% of I/N Tek and I/N Kote.

United States Steel Corp. exercised its call option to acquire the remaining equity of Big River Steel for approximately $774 million. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021. Big River Steel operates a LEED-certified Flex Mill in northeast Arkansas. The company’s advanced manufacturing technology and skilled operators combined with U.S. Steel’s product development capabilities and intellectual property have allowed Big River Steel to produce 11 advanced U.S. Steel grades.

Tenova was awarded a contract by Valbruna ASW Inc. for the supply of an electric-arc furnace (EAF). Valbruna ASW is a premier specialty steelmaker, and the EAF will be installed at its facility in Welland, Ontario (Canada). The EAF will guarantee an increase in the plant’s hourly melt-shop production rate and the effectiveness and reliability in the production of high-quality steel and stainless steel.

Taylor-Winfield Technologies (TWT), a metal joining solutions providers, announced the opening of its fully equipped laser coil joining research-and-development laboratory in Youngstown, Ohio. The lab is an extension of the company’s existing full-service metal joining and induction heat-treatment laboratory. The laser laboratory is equipped with a full-width 1,930-mm coil joining solid-state fiber laser welder with induction pre- and post-weld heat treatment. It is available for customer sampling and proof-of-process validation for the application of laser coil joining in a process line.

Quintus Technologies received an order from Piper Aircraft, an aircraft manufacturer, to provide a high-pressure hydroform fluid cell press for its facility in Vero Beach, Fla. The press generates a press force of 35,000 metric tons across the entire forming area of 39 x 118 inches (1,000 x 3,000 mm). It includes user-friendly features such as equipment serviceability, remote system control and a high degree of self-diagnostics. The installation will allow Piper to redirect component production from a 40-year-old ASEA press. The large forming area and advanced controls give the new press the ability to produce up to 1,000,000 formed sheet-metal parts per year.

Andritz received an order from Zouping Hongfa Aluminium Science Technology Co. Ltd., part of Weiqiao Aluminum Group, to supply one melting and holding furnace cell for its plant in Shandong Province, China. Start-up is scheduled for the first quarter of 2022. The furnace cell will include two 115-ton round-top melters and two 125-ton tilting holders. Andritz’s scope of supply includes engineering, manufacturing, commissioning, start-up and follow-up services. According to Andritz, the two melters are the largest ever supplied to China.