AK Steel announced that employees at its Middletown steel plant have set a world record for consecutive heats of carbon steel continuously cast on either a single- or double-strand caster.
Crews at the company's Middletown Works cast 2156 consecutive heats of steel through the plant's double-strand caster. A total of about 103 miles of carbon steel slabs were cast during the 59-day sequence that was ended on May 4, 2010 for a planned maintenance outage.
"Congratulations to our Middletown Works crews on their record-setting performance," said James L. Wainscott, Chairman, President and CEO of AK Steel. "This extraordinary achievement exemplifies AK Steel's commitment to our key values of safety, quality and productivity."
The company said that caster employees produced 474,131 tons of carbon steel slabs during the record-breaking — and accident-free — run. The company also acknowledged the support of employees in the melting, maintenance, transportation, energy and blast furnace departments in the plant’s achievement of its record performance.
AK Steel's Ashland (Ky.) plant previously held the world record for consecutive heats cast on a single-strand caster. That record – 1,851 consecutive heats – was set on September 26, 2002.
AK Steel produces flat-rolled carbon, stainless and electrical steels, primarily for automotive, appliance, construction and electrical power generation and distribution markets. The company employs about 6200 men and women in Middletown, Mansfield, Coshocton and Zanesville, Ohio; Butler, Pa.; Ashland, Ky.; Rockport, Ind.; and its corporate headquarters in West Chester, Ohio.
AK Tube LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of AK Steel, employs about 300 men and women in plants in Walbridge, Ohio, and Columbus, Ind. AK Tube produces carbon and stainless electric resistance welded (ERW) tubular steel products for truck, automotive and other markets.