Zaporizhstal, a steel company in Zaporizhia, is investing over UAH 135 million in major repairs to heating wells in its hot rolling shop.
According to a press release issued by the plant on Thursday, the company is continuing comprehensive capital repairs of three groups of heating wells (four wells in each group) in the slab department of the hot rolling mill in accordance with its annual capital investment program. The total investment exceeds UAH 135 million.
“Today, Zaporizhstal is operating at only 75% of its capacity, but we are implementing the program for the maintenance and repair of production equipment at 100%. In particular, a major upgrade of the heating wells, which are an important link in the hot rolling process at Zaporizhstal, is currently underway. The quality of finished metal products, the mechanical properties of rolled products, and their compliance with standards and customer requirements depend on the stability of the temperature regime and the uniformity of heating of billets in the wells,” said Acting CEO Taras Shevchenko.
According to him, in addition to specialists from the engineering service, automation department, and central electrical engineering laboratory, specialists from the contracting organizations Etalonbudservis and MSC Prime are also involved in the overhaul. As part of the overhaul, worn refractories will be dismantled and replaced with new linings, in particular those manufactured by Zaporizhzhya Refractories. The total weight of refractory bricks and shotcrete mixture is more than 2,200 tons.
In addition, mechanical and power equipment, communications, and shut-off valves will be upgraded, about 900 tons of metal structures will be replaced, and hydraulic devices, automation, temperature sensors, etc. will be repaired and replaced.
Heating wells provide thermal preparation of ingots weighing up to 16 tons before rolling into slabs and further into thin rolled products. The overhaul of this equipment complex will significantly improve its reliability, energy efficiency, and minimize the risk of unplanned technological stoppages.
It is specified that this year Zaporizhstal will carry out a complex overhaul of key units of the thermal power plant – boiler unit No. 5, turbine generator No. 1, and turbo compressor unit No. 7. The plant will allocate about UAH 75 million for these purposes. Overall, despite the difficult economic situation, the capital investment budget for 2025 has been increased to UAH 1.1 billion.
Zaporizhstal is one of Ukraine’s largest industrial enterprises, whose products are in high demand among consumers both on the domestic market and in many countries around the world.
Zaporizhstal is a joint venture of the Metinvest Group, whose main shareholders are System Capital Management (71.24%) and Smart Steel Limited (23.76%). Metinvest Holding LLC is the managing company of the Metinvest Group.
