Nucor to acquire Gallatin Steel for its flat-rolled mill products
September 16, 2014
Source:
Nucor Corp., Charlotte, N.C., has entered into an agreement to purchase all the equity of Gallatin Steel Company for a cash purchase price of approximately $770 million. Adjusting for the net present value of the anticipated tax benefits, the realized effective purchase price for Nucor is approximately $630 million. Adding Gallatin to Nucor's four existing flat-rolled mills will increase Nucor's total flat-rolled product annual capacity by 16% – to approximately 13 million tons.
Strategically located on the Ohio River in Ghent, Kentucky, the flat-rolled products mill, with an annual capacity of approximately 1,800,000 tons, broadens Nucor's footprint in the important Midwest region.
"Gallatin will enhance Nucor's current position serving flat-rolled customers in the growing pipe and tube segment," said John Ferriola, Chairman, CEO and President of Nucor
"Gallatin is a great fit for Nucor and our sheet mill group," said Ladd Hall, Executive Vice President of Flat-Rolled Products. "The acquisition will further strengthen our ability to meet the needs of all of our flat-rolled product customers."
Nucor anticipates that this transaction will close promptly after the satisfaction of all closing conditions and the receipt of required regulatory approvals. It is expected to be immediately accretive to cash flow and accretive to earnings after working through purchase accounting-valued finished goods inventories.
www.nucor.com
Nucor Corp., Charlotte, N.C., has entered into an agreement to purchase all the equity of Gallatin Steel Company for a cash purchase price of approximately $770 million.
Continue reading
SSAB merges with Rautaruukki to form a global steel company
August 13, 2014
Source:
SSAB, Stockholm, Sweden, announces that Rautaruukki became part of SSAB on July 29, 2014. Together, the two create a Nordic and U.S.-based steel company that is a leading producer on the global market for advanced high-strength steels, quenched & tempered steels, standard strip, plate, and tubular products, as well as construction solutions.
The preliminary combined net sales for the companies during 2013 amounts to approximately SEK 56 billion (EUR 6.4 billion), and SSAB and Rautaruukki combined have around 17,300 employees. The company has an annual steel production capacity of 8.8 million metric tons. tonnes.
The merger of SSAB and Ruukki creates a global steel company that offers value-added products and services developed in close cooperation with its customers. The new company has five divisions: SSAB Special Steels –advanced high-strength steels and quenched and tempered steels; SSAB Europe – a Nordic-based steel producer of high quality strip, heavy plate and tubes; SSAB Americas – a North America-based steel producer of high quality heavy plate; Tibnor – a Nordic full-service steel distribution partner; and Ruukki Construction – a European provider of energy-efficient building and construction solutions.
http://www.ssab.com/
SSAB, Stockholm, Sweden, announces that Rautaruukki became part of SSAB on July 29, 2014.
Continue reading
ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe invests $121 million to modernize Duisburg continuous caster
July 23, 2014
Source:
ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe, Germany, is investing $121 million to modernize continuous caster 1 in Duisburg-Beeckerwerth to improve slab quality and widen the product range. It is scheduled to go back into operation in just under eight weeks. The work is being carried out in parallel with the reline of blast furnace 2 in order to minimize production losses.
Continuous caster 1 is designed for steel slabs with widths between 1000 and 2150 millimeters and a thickness of up to 257 millimeters. The rebuild of the two-strand bow-type caster includes a new ladle turret and an 80-ton tundish including car, the replacement of the casting machine itself, and the installation of new measuring systems. A key element of the modernization is a new cooling system. Previously slabs were sprayed with water across their full width. A new air-water cooling technology will permit gentler, more accurate cooling of the hot strand.
In the future it will be possible to switch individual nozzles on and off, so allowing targeted cooling of defined zones across the width of the strand. "Thanks to air-water cooling we will have next to no edge defects in slabs anymore," explains Dr. Arnd Köfler, Head of Crude Steel at ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe. "This will significantly improve the surface quality of the steel, particularly the higher-strength grades our customers are increasingly requesting."
Continuous caster 1 was built in 1974 and has been modernized twice since. The revamp is therefore essential. Alongside this unit there is a second continuous caster in Beeckerwerth and another one in the Bruckhausen plant. The capacity of continuous caster 1 is around 2.3 million tons per year. Since it began operation 40 years ago it has produced more than 80 million tons of steel, enough to build almost 1,100 copies of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. The two continuous casters in Beeckerwerth provide work for roughly 170 employees. They produce high-quality slabs for special steels, mainly for the auto industry, as well as tinplate for the packaging industry, high-strength steels, skelp and quarto plate.
www.thyssenkrupp-steel-europe.com/en
ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe, Germany, is investing $121 million to modernize continuous caster 1 in Duisburg-Beeckerwerth to improve slab quality and widen the product range.
Continue reading
MMFX’s ChromX 4100 high-strength reinforcing steel provides up to 60% cost savings
May 19, 2014
Source:
MMFX Steel Corp. of America, Irvine, Calif., has been named as a finalist in American Metal Market's annual Awards for Steel Excellence for its high-strength reinforcing steel, ChromX 4100. This high-strength (100 ksi) rebar allows structures to be designed and built with up to 40% less steel, resulting in up to 60% cost savings in steel fabrication and placement labor.
The unique steel technology used in the manufacture of ChromX 4100 results in a low-carbon martensitic steel microstructure with high ductility. Unlike common carbon steel rebar, which loses ductility as strength is increased, ChromX 4100 maintains excellent ductility and can be fabricated like conventional reinforcing steel.
"We are honored to have ChromX 4100 recognized as a finalist for the Awards for Steel Excellence," said Tom Russo, MMFX CEO. "MMFX developed ChromX 4100 specifically to meet the growing demand for reasonably priced high-strength reinforcing steels for large construction projects when high corrosion resistance is not required."
MMFX introduced ChromX 4100 at a lower cost than its popular, more corrosion-resistant MMFX2 rebar to meet the market's need for high-strength steels when corrosion is less of an issue, such as in the high-rise commercial market.
Grade 100 ChromX 4100 steel is available in various sizes of reinforcing steel (rebar), smooth rounds, and flats. It is sold in North and South America by MMFX Steel Corporation of America and in the Middle East by MMFX Steel DMCC.
http://www.mmfx.com/
MMFX Steel Corp. of America, Irvine, Calif., has been named as a finalist for American Metal Market’s annual Awards for Steel Excellence for its high-strength reinforcing steel, ChromX 4100.
Continue reading
MesoCoat receives EPA grant to develop CermaClad zinc-based cladding technology
May 7, 2014
Source:
Abakan Inc., Miami, announces that its majority-owned subsidiary MesoCoat Inc., Euclid, Ohio, has received a Phase One SBIR Grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for a six-month project to develop CermaClad high-speed large-area metal cladding technology for bridges. The technology enables application of very thin layers of proprietary zinc materials to prevent corrosion by forming a physical barrier that acts as a sacrificial anode when the barrier is in danger.
It is a replacement alternative for the highly toxic galvanizing process. The EPA funding will be used to develop the product for infrastructure applications.
MesoCoat will use CermaClad metal cladding technology to apply very thin layers of proprietary zinc materials to prevent corrosion by forming a physical barrier that acts as a sacrificial anode when the barrier is in danger. The primary application of CermaClad LT zinc cladding is intended for corrosion protection for steel components including bridge decks, structures and beams, marine, power generation, refineries, grid transmission towers, railroads, and oil/gas infrastructure.
Frost and Sullivan expects the global demand for zinc to be 13.2 million metric tons (MT) in 2014, of which 50% of the total production is to be used for galvanizing steel against corrosion, which translates into an approximately $18 billion market for galvanizing globally. However, current galvanizing methods rely on toxic processes that utilize hazardous and noxious materials which generate toxic emissions. Chemical baths used during the galvanizing (pickling) process are among the leading producers of industrial waste.
www.abakaninc.com
Abakan Inc., Miami, announces that its majority-owned subsidiary MesoCoat Inc., Euclid, Ohio, has received a Phase One SBIR Grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for a six month project to develop CermaClad high-speed large-area metal cladding technology for bridges and other structures.
Continue reading
ASM Announces Emerging Technologies Survey Results
February 26, 2014
Source:
ASM International's (Materials Park, Ohio) Emerging Technologies Awareness Committee recently conducted a survey of several hundred ASM members to gain feedback on technologies that members believe will have the most impact on the future of materials science and engineering. The survey asked respondents to name three materials-related technologies and three process-related developments expected to have a significant impact within the next few years. It further asked respondents to clarify which of these technology developments they expect to have the single greatest impact.
"One of the goals of ASM's Emerging Technologies Awareness Committee is to identify the latest trends and areas of interest within materials engineering. Surveys such as this are very helpful, in that they gather feedback on leading-edge topics that ASM can then build content and courses around," says committee chair Roger Narayan, FASM, professor of biomedical engineering at North Carolina State University.
Of the 300 total responses, most could be placed into 11 major categories including: Additive manufacturing/3D printing; biomedical or bio-based materials; energy materials such as fuel cells and batteries; environmentally friendly/recycled or substitute materials; high-performance materials for light weight, high strength, high temperature applications; integrated computational materials engineering (ICME) and computational modeling; welding and joining; metals processing technologies; nanomaterials and nanomanufacturing; smart or multifunctional materials; and surface coatings/engineering.
Of these categories, the top five included high-performance materials (66 responses), energy materials (50 responses), additive manufacturing (39 responses), nanotechnology (35 responses), and ICME (26 responses). The survey was not intended to provide statistically significant data, but rather to gain a deeper understanding of what members perceive to be the most promising next-generation technologies related to materials engineering.
Based on these survey results, the Emerging Technologies Awareness Committee plans to consider further actions such as developing new education courses, publications, databases, and feature articles around these topic areas. Survey results will be shared with members and others via the ASM Newswire, Advanced Materials & Processes (AM&P) eNews, and AM&P magazine.
ASM International’s Emerging Technologies Awareness Committee recently conducted a survey of several hundred ASM members to gain feedback on technologies that members believe will have the most impact on the future of materials science and engineering.
Continue reading
Aluminum products producer Aleris acquires sheet producer Nichols Aluminum
February 12, 2014
Source:
Aleris, Cleveland, Ohio, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Nichols Aluminum, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Quanex Building Products Corp. Nichols is a leading producer of aluminum sheet for the transportation, building and construction, machinery and equipment, consumer durables, and electrical industries in North America. The acquisition includes two production facilities in Davenport, Iowa; a facility in Decatur, Alabama; and a facility in Lincolnshire, Illinois. The company has agreed to pay $110 Million in an all-cash transaction.
"Nichols has a long history of producing flat-rolled aluminum sheet products for customers in a number of key industries across North America and we look forward to continuing that long-standing tradition," says Steve Demetriou, Aleris chairman and CEO. "This acquisition is consistent with our strategy to expand our footprint and enhance our capabilities to ensure we are well-positioned to respond to projected growth in our key end uses as the economy begins to recover."
Upon the close of the transaction, Nichols will become part of Aleris' Rolled Products North America business, adding more than 500 Nichols employees to the Aleris team.
Aleris is a privately held, global leader in aluminum rolled products and extrusions, aluminum recycling and specification alloy production. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Aleris operates approximately 40 production facilities in North America, Europe, and Asia.
www.aleris.com
Aleris, Cleveland, Ohio, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Nichols Aluminum, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Quanex Building Products Corp.
Continue reading
Blimp outfitted with microscopes studies the sky
December 9, 2013
Source:
The world's largest airship, the Skyship 600, made its way through the clouds on a month long journey across the U.S. A team of British scientists made the air trek in a blimp as part of a BBC expedition team to study the clouds and life activity in the air. Microscopes from Carl Zeiss Microscopy LLC, Oberkochen, Germany, were used to assist in the research being conducted by the traveling team for the BBC Two series Cloud Lab. The team included an entomologist, meteorologist, and professional explorer who hoped to shed light on the creation of clouds and the relationship between diverse ecosystems and weather.
The team traveled from Florida to California in the air and landed at 13 different air fields along their route. A small ground crew followed the blimp's path to monitor the progress and transport equipment to each stop. Carl Zeiss Microscopy loaned an inverted, compound microscope (Axio Vert.A1) and a stereo microscope (Stemi 2000), which were used by the scientists at the temporary "labs" to be set up on the air fields.
Bugs captured and air cultures grown in the airship were examined and dissected. With the use of the microscopes, scientists were able to look at the cultures grown on filters from different locations for fungi and bacteria. They also examined insects and anything else they came across. After being examined in the field, the bacteria were sent out to be imaged with a scanning electron microscope, as well as possible DNA testing.
The main goal of the exploratory expedition was to explain the changes in weather and its effects. Also, data was correlated to current weather, migratory, and wildlife patterns. The idea started with the question, "What would it be like to live on a cloud?" To be able to be among clouds and accurately measure them, a gentle machine was needed so as not to disrupt or change the cloud patterns. The U.S. was chosen due to the availability of renting an air ship for a month and no country borders needed to be crossed along the way, which makes travel easier. The Cloud Lab will be seen on BBC Two television next year.
More information:
Carl Zeiss Microscopy
Skyship 600
The world’s largest airship, the Skyship 600, made its way through the clouds on a month long journey across the U.S. A team of British scientists made the air trek in a blimp as part of a BBC expedition team to study the clouds and life activity in the air.
Continue reading
Testing system for wind power applications
December 6, 2013
Source:
SAKOR Technologies Inc., Okemos, Mich., announces the availability of its complete AccuDyne AC Dynamometer system for wind power testing applications. The system can be used by multiple engineering groups to test and verify designs, as well as for quality control testing after manufacturing.
Ideal for testing both active and passive wind power driveline components, the dynamometer system can be used to test turbines and their associated blade pitch control motors, generators and wind-sensing devices and motors, and transmissions. The system can also be used for testing water coolant pumps and other ancillary components.
In addition to independent component testing, the system can also be used to test groups of components simultaneously to see how they work together. For those conducting research and development, AccuDyne can be used to simulate the generator itself during early design stages, before a physical generator or gear box unit exists.
With the system, wind power test centers need only one dynamometer to test a wide range of model sizes and verify design specifications for multiple product categories and driveline mechanisms. The system is also perfect for research and development groups working on new turbine and generator designs.
AccuDyne comes packaged with the DynoLab EM test cell control system, making it a complete turnkey system to measure all mechanical and electrical wind power system components and simulate real world conditions in a fully automated test system.
Available in sizes ranging from 3kW to 10 MW, the dynamometers are appropriate for all wind power rotational testing needs. Modern vector drive technology allows the system to provide true 4-quadrant capability, with completely seamless crossover between motoring and loading modes. It also offers the most precise speed and torque control available, especially in low speed applications where full torque can be applied all the way to stall (zero speed).
DynoLAB EM system offers many advanced features, including the ability to simulate inertia to test a wide range of large and small loads, torque pulse simulation for simulating components that exhibit cogging (such as PM generators), and noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) testing.
More information: SAKOR Technologies Inc.
SAKOR Technologies Inc., Okemos, Mich., announces the availability of its complete AccuDyne AC Dynamometer system for wind power testing applications. The system can be used by multiple engineering groups to test and verify designs, as well as for quality control testing after manufacturing.
Continue reading 