Published 27th July, 2022 by Matthew Moggridge

American steel giant Nucor Steel Gallatin has contracted Italian plant builder Danieli to upgrade its hot-strip plant in Ghent, Kentucky, USA. 16mn Steel Coil

Nucor wants to extend its range of steel grades and increase strip production capacity at the plant and can now report that, on 24 June 2022 it produced its first quality coil at the upgraded facility. The strip in question was 18mm thick and will be a new product for the plant, thanks to the installation of downcoilers from Danieli, it is claimed.

Using Danieli Quality Strip Production (QSP) technology, the new plant will enable Nucor Steel Gallatin to expand production of advanced high strength steel (AHSS), API line pipe and a number of other value-added grades in widths up to 1,870mm (73.5in).

According to Danieli, the Ghent plant’s complete production will be delivered by a new, patented, single-strand vertical-curved Dysencaster® with a total capacity of up to 3Mt/yr (short tons). A new tunnel furnace connects the caster to a revamped mill, which now operates in 2+6 mill stand configuration, featuring new roughing stands, advanced combined intensive and laminar cooling, and the aforementioned downcoilers.

The revamped plant also includes a new, high-performance DC EAF featuring Danieli’s Q-Melt technology and a twin ladle furnace, with future provision for a vacuum degasser. The plant is controlled by a complete Industry 4.0-ready Danieli Automation process control system, handling everything from melting to finished hot-rolled coils.

Ah32 Steel Plate Danieli claims that the Ghent project is the first modernization of a classical compact, thin-slab casting and rolling plant, fully reconfigured into an ultra-modern quality strip production plant (QSP®).