Kametstal to start overhauling its main production units in April

In the second half of April, Kametstal, a member of Metinvest Group, will start overhauling its main production units, namely the blast furnace and ladle furnace. This is stated in the message of the company.

As noted, since the beginning of April, intensive preparations have been underway at the repair sites of the Metallurgical Equipment Repair Shop (MERS) for the high-quality and timely overhaul of these units: teams of fitters and welders have been performing a number of operations.

The shop personnel will be directly involved in the upcoming work. At present, preliminary assemblies of individual components and assemblies of the blast furnace and ladle furnace are being carried out on specially equipped stands, which will significantly reduce the time for their installation during repairs.

One of the key stages in the preparation for the overhaul of Blast Furnace No. 9 is the enlarged assembly of the charging apparatus, which was shipped to the Central Research and Development Institute after being restored at Zaporizhzhia Foundry and Mechanical Plant (ZLMZ). At the same time, a new gas gate is being prepared for installation.

In addition, work is underway to manufacture a chute to remove the residual smelting products from the furnace. The repairmen are also making special formwork for pouring concrete into the furnace hearth.

As for the ladle furnace, the personnel of the Central Pipe and Tube Works are working on the elements of the new roof. The new cover pipes, each with a diameter of 3.8 meters, are currently being rolled at ZLMZ, after which they will be installed and the roof will be tested hydraulically. The prepared structure will then be transported to the BOF Shop, where the overhaul will begin.

Preparatory work is being carried out both on-site and at production sites. At the blast furnace’s blast furnace bellows area, repairmen are installing electric winches to replace the charging apparatus and cooling plates. The complexity of the rigging work lies in the large number of winches involved – there will be about fifteen of them, which necessitates the use of a significant number of special blocks.

Andriy Myronenko, Deputy Director for Service, noted that many overhauls are planned to be carried out over several months. According to him, the preparations are going well, and the company expects to meet the established schedules.

As GMK Center reported earlier, Kametstal cuts costs by repairing equipment in-house. One of the key achievements was the introduction of mobile equipment restoration technologies