In December of 2005 Mittal Steel USA in Steelton, Pa., began working with ETS Schaefer Corporation (supplier) in Mace-donia, Ohio, to develop a new furnace roof for their No. 4 reheat furnace in the 35-inch mill. Mittal’s (manufacturer) Steel-ton plant produces a variety of products including railroad rails, specialty blooms and forging-quality ingots. Processes at this facility include steelmaking, rolling and finishing. The supplier designs and builds ceramic-fiber heat-containment sys-tems and had up to this point provided ladle preheater linings, soaking-pit cover linings and furnace doors to this plant. The existing furnace roof needed to be replaced, and, because of Mittal Steel’s emphasis on fuel savings and the rising cost of natural gas, they decided it was time to look at an alternative lining material for this roof. The goals would be to reduce fuel consumption, reduce maintenance downtime and increase production, thereby increasing profitability.