German ROGESA shuts down blast furnace No. 4 for 55-day maintenance

German steelmaker ROGESA Roheisengesellschaft Saar GmbH, which produces pig iron for Saarstahl and Dillinger Hütte, has started scheduled repairs of blast furnace No. 4. Kallanish reports.

The work started on May 21, earlier than the originally planned third quarter. The reason for this decision was the accelerated wear of the unit’s lining.

The furnace was built in the late 1970s by Paul Wurth, and the current repairs are being carried out by the German engineering giant SMS Group. The modernization project involves a complete renewal of the lining and the installation of a state-of-the-art wear monitoring system using multi-thermocouple sensors. This will significantly improve the safety and efficiency of the furnace in the future.

The repair is expected to take 55 days. According to SMS Group representatives, the upgrades will significantly extend the blast furnace’s service life and improve control over critical process parameters.

At the same time, on the day the furnace was shut down, a fire broke out on the slag granulation unit’s conveyor. The fire was quickly extinguished, there were no casualties, and the company assures that the incident will not affect the repair work in any way.

ROGESA plays an important role in the steel industry in southwestern Germany, so timely modernization of its production facilities is of strategic importance for the sustainable supply of pig iron to regional enterprises.

In April 2025, German steelmakers reduced steel production by 10.1% y/y and 5.2% m/m – to 2.95 million tons. Steel production in oxygen converters amounted to 2 million tons for the month, down 12.6% y/y and 2.7% m/m, and in electric arc furnaces – 946 thousand tons (-4.3% y/y; -10.1% m/m).