The company has upgraded Raahe Works' blast furnaces, installed a new slab caster, and upgraded two older ones. The combination of new equipment and intensive training has inched up productivity at the unionized mill from 2.58 manhours per ton at the end of 1994 to 2.45 today. The current number, however, includes work performed by the myriad subcontractors who are helping install the new equipment. At this rate, the plant would be producing more than 800 tons of steel annually for every employee, up from 650 when the project began. The ultimate target is to boost overall steel production from 2.3 to 2.8 million tons.
Operators now can use the system to reduce costs.
Our people are very aware now of how their actions affect the company's bottom line. The company started its project by taking a wrench to Raahe Works' two blast furnaces. A series of other improvements helped cut fuel and labor costs at the blast furnaces. The plant installed bell-less tops with rotating chutes, which prevent clumping of the raw materials. It gradually increased the iron in the sinter to decrease the slag rate from 250 to 200 kilograms per ton of hot metal.