“Furnace no. 5 in Galati is the largest investment made in this plant. It is the biggest furnace in Romania. The furnace has undergone capital repairs since early 2010, and will start to operate in September,” said Veronica Chiper, manager of the furnace department at ArcelorMittal Galati.
At present, the plant can produce steel in two furnaces, which have an overall capacity of 2.2 million tons, but now the Indian-held plant works at half the overall production capacity, using only one furnace.
Until the inauguration of the new production facility, India’s Mittal will alternatively use the two furnaces in order to be able to meet orders. After the new furnace becomes operational, production at one of two furnaces will be suspended. ArcelorMittal officials estimate that, starting this autumn, the new furnace and one of the old production facilities will be working in parallel.