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£5.6M INVESTMENT INCREASES CORUS CAPABILITY TO PRODUCE LATEST GENERATION GALVANISED STEELS TO MEET INCREASING AUTOMOTIVE DEMAND
The investment will increase the capacity of the line by 20% from the existing output of around 300kt per year. It will also provide Corus with the capability to produce a range of dual-phase steels, increasingly demanded by vehicle manufacturers because of the crash performance and weight benefits they offer. This complements the dual-phase capability already in place at Corus Strip Products IJmuiden. The major advantage of dual-phase steels is that they offer vehicle engineers a good balance between strength and formability. Importantly, dual-phase steels also demonstrate a positive response to strain rates, critical to the crash performance of the material in a vehicle during impact. By offering better crash performance for less steel, dual-phase products can also enable designers and engineers to take weight out of a vehicle and through this, help improve fuel economy and vehicle performance. First commissioned in 1990, Corus’ ZODIAC line produces galvanised sheet steel for the automotive and construction industries. Over the years, Corus has seen a steady increase in demand for these products and anticipates this growth to continue. The ZODIAC line has benefited from a number of investments, the last of which in 1995 resulted in enhanced output and a significant improvement in the quality of coatings. Commenting on the how the investment will help increase output whilst maintaining excellent quality, Stephen George, works manager, Corus Strip Products UK, said: 'The major enhancements have focussed on increasing the thermal capacity of the line in order to heat the strip to required temperatures at an increased line speed, therefore allowing us to process more material. Specific work has included extending the pre-heat section of the existing furnace, replacing burners and upgrading the cooling section of the line to ensure consistent cooling rates. These enhancements will significantly increase the strip speed through the annealing furnaces allowing us to enhance output by around 20 per cent to help meet forecast increases in demand from our automotive customers.' The annealing process (heating, holding and cooling of the strip) on any line plays a critical role in determining the mechanical and metallurgical properties of the finished material. Mr George continues: 'Importantly, increasing the thermal capacity of the line will result in fewer changes to the furnace temperature and environment, and will mean that more strip can go through in a similar profile, helping to ensure a consistent product with more uniform metallurgical properties.' Mr George concludes: 'The investment underlines our commitment to meet the changing requirements of our automotive customers. Not only will we be able to supply improved quality product for premium finish applications such as automotive outer body panels, but importantly the enhancement to the ZODIAC line now provides us with the capability to produce dual-phase steels.'
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