KCI Konecranes will supply nineteen SM Spacemaker cranes to SeverCorr LLC for a new mini steel mill in Lowndes County, Mississippi. SeverCorr is a joint venture between steel industry veteran John Correnti, former CEO of Nucor, and Severstal Group, a Russian-based global steel producer with worldwide operations. The mill will produce hot-rolled, cold-rolled and coated products, and will be the first mini-mill in the U. S. to produce exposed automotive grade steel. The cranes will be built in Houston, Texas by Konecranes America, Inc and delivered from May through July 2006. The value of the order is approximately 10 MUSD.
“Konecranes America is excited to be one of the key suppliers for this groundbreaking venture, and we are pleased to be part of SeverCorr’s team,” said Doug Maclam, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Konecranes America, Inc. “Low operating cost was a watchword of this project, which made KCI Konecranes’ proven Spacemaker technology an excellent match for both the hot and cold mills. The low headroom design will favourably impact building costs, and a high degree of commonality in key components will be a cost-saving feature for years to come.”
John Correnti, President and CEO of SeverCorr, was personally involved in negotiating the crane purchase. “Konecranes gave us the best proposal, and as a result, they will be building more than 75 percent of the cranes for our facility,” Correnti said. “They have a good reputation, and I know they’ll do a great job for us”.
The radio controlled SM Spacemaker cranes will be used for handling steel coils and for maintenance of process equipment. Eight cranes will be used in the hot mill for handling tundishes, machine rolls, mill motors and other equipment, as well as hot coils. The eleven cold mill cranes will manage finished coils in the pickling-, annealing, tempering and galvanizing lines and in the shipping area, by using motorized, rotating coil grabs, c-hooks and magnets supplied by SeverCorr LLC. Several cranes will have magnets on the auxiliary hoists for scrap cleanup. Most of the cranes are rated for 55 tons process duty for coil handling and 100 tons for maintenance lifts.
“We provide our customers with the high quality coil steel that they require for exposed automotive parts”, said LeRoy Prichard, Vice President, Steel Technology and Engineering, SeverCorr LLC. “The finishing stream also requires a tandem cold mill, which is something most mini-mills don’t have and the overhead cranes are a key component in this process”. According to Prichard, Konecranes was initially invited to bid the project because of their reputation as one of the world’s major crane suppliers. “Konecranes employs the most current technology for building and operating cranes, and in the final analysis, they provided us with the most cost-effective package and shortest delivery time”, said Prichard.
Further information can be obtained from
Doug Maclam, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Konecranes America, Inc.
Email: [email protected] or Phone +1 281 445 2225
This press release together with a downloadable picture is available at our web site www.konecranes.com.
The caption for the photograph reads:“KCI Konecranes receives major order for new U.S. steel mill.”
SeverCorr LLC is a newly formed company between steel industry veteran John Correnti and Severstal Group, that together will construct and operate the world's newest state-of-the-art steel mill in Lowndes County, Mississippi. The steel mill SeverCorr is the first greenfield mill built in the U.S. since the mid-1990s and designed to produce 1.5 million tons of high quality flat-rolled steel products for the growing number of automotive producers in the southern United States steel market. Key innovations allow this mill to produce exposed automotive grade steel, which no other U.S. mini-mill has been able to achieve. Approximately 2,000 construction-related jobs will be created during the next 24 months and nearly 450 people will be employed when the production facilities are fully operational.
About KCI Konecranes
KCI Konecranes is a world leading crane technology and service company. Maintenance services are provided for cranes of every make. The product range includes light crane systems, heavy-duty cranes for process industries and shipyards, special harbour cranes for bulk materials and containers as well as reach stackers and lift trucks. In 2004, Group sales totalled EUR 728 million. The Group has 5,000 employees in 35 countries. KCI Konecranes is listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange (symbol: KCI1V).
