Danieli & C Officine Meccaniche S p A : CMC orders its third MIDA ECR® minimill from Danieli

CMC reconfirms the trust in Danieli ordering its third MIDA ECR® endless casting rolling plant, named Triple M.

To be installed in Western USA, it will produce an estimated nominal 500,000 shtpy of long products, namely 350,000 shtpy of rebar and 150,000 shtpy of small merchant sections.

Hybrid-ready, it will melt local scrap by the innovative Danieli Digimelter solution (Q-One, Zero-bucket, Q-Melt) and will produce clean and sustainable steel thanks to the endless casting and rolling technology developed by Danieli and CMC in the late 2000s and in operation at the first-ever Micromill plant, in Arizona.

Among the relevant technologies which will be installed in the new MIDA ECR® minimill of CMC, Q-One is the latest Danieli patented solution for EAF and LF power management. It handles irregular power loads with high flexibility and reliability thanks to the control capabilities provided by power semiconductor devices. Q-One is natively-ready to be powered by energy coming from renewable sources generated at the site.

Taking advantages of the know-how and consolidated experience with rebar, the patent-pending Triple M layout has been specifically developed to fully match the needs of merchant products in terms of high plant uptime and excellent yield.

Danieli will supply the technological equipment consisting of the Digimelter steelmaking system, featuring continuous scrap charging with the Danieli preheating system ECS®, a 60-sht side-charge EAF and a ladle treatment furnace.

The core of the endless casting and rolling section includes a single-strand, high-speed continuous casting machine featuring the latest design of PowerMould and FastCast Cube oscillator, directly connected to the rolling mill for uninterrupted production cycles.

The rolling mill, directly connected to the caster through insulated conveyors and induction heater for billet temperature equalization, is comprised of 20 housingless stands.

Excellence in reliability and uptime is given by the latest digital-mill features, including automatic gap-setting and -control, digital tracking of consumables, smart machines and significant contribution of Industry 4.0 technologies.

The finishing facility consists of the innovative DRB-Direct Rolling & Bundling system for production of superior quality bar bundles and a finishing area dedicated to merchant bar, including a 60-m cooling bed, in-line straightening and cold shear, and 24-m-long, magnetic type, automatic stacker.

Triple M incorporates the well proven benefits of the endless process gained in the last 20 years, together with the revolutionary Q-One and the latest digital smart technologies, and thus will set the new benchmark for worldwide minimills.

Claims from CMC top management:

Barbara R. Smith, Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of CMC, said, 'We are excited by the tremendous promise of CMC's third micro mill. This is a smart growth initiative that feeds the large underlying West Coast demand for rebar and merchant bar, replacing inefficient existing rebar capacity with environmentally friendly technology. By monetizing the significant value associated with our Southern California real estate, this lowers the project's capital requirements and increases its returns. Offering bottom line growth and significant environmental benefits, this project is a win for our customers, employees, the local community, and shareholders.'

Tracy Porter, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, stated, 'Representing another first in North America, this new micro mill, which we are calling Triple M, will employ the latest technology in EAF power supply systems provided by Danieli, our equipment provider. Among the many advantages, we selected Danieli's 'Q-One' technology because it allows us to directly connect the Electric Arc Furnace and Ladle Furnace to renewable energy sources such as solar and wind, and we intend to construct a solar array on our plant site to provide a meaningful portion of the facility's power. With this new advanced technology, coupled with the continuous steelmaking process, we will be one of the most efficient steel producers in the world.'