Zaporizhstal of Metinvest Group, in line with its annual capital investment programme, continues to carry out comprehensive major overhauls of three groups of soaking pits (with four pits in each group) in the slab section of the hot rolling shop. The total amount of investments exceeds UAH 135 million.
"Today, Zaporizhstal operates at only 75% of its production capacity. Nevertheless, we are carrying out the maintenance and repair programme for production equipment in full. In particular, a major upgrade of the soaking pits is currently underway; they are an important link in the technological process of hot rolling at Zaporizhstal. The quality of finished steel products, mechanical properties of rolled steel, and compliance with standards and customer requirements depend on stable temperature conditions and uniform billet heating in the pits," said Taras SHEVCHENKO, Acting General Director of Zaporizhstal and Hero of Ukraine.
FIGURE
Total amount of investments in major overhauls of soaking pits – UAH 135 million
In addition to specialists from the engineering service, automation office, and Zaporizhstal's central electrotechnical laboratory, specialists from the contracting companies Etalonbudservis and MSK Prime are involved. As part of the major overhaul, they will dismantle worn refractories and replace them with new lining, particularly products manufactured by Zaporizhzhia Refractories of Metinvest Group. The total weight of refractory bricks and shotcrete mixture amounts to over 2,200 tonnes.
They will also upgrade mechanical and power equipment, utility lines, and shut-off valves. Specialists will replace approximately 900 tonnes of steel structures and carry out the repair and replacement of hydraulic devices, automation, temperature sensors, and many more.
The soaking pits provide thermal preparation of ingots weighing up to 16 tonnes before they undergo hot rolling into slabs and subsequently into thin rolled products. The major overhaul of these facilities will significantly improve operational reliability, enhance energy efficiency, and minimise risks of unscheduled technological shutdowns.
As a reminder, this year Zaporizhstal will carry out a series of major overhauls of key units of the combined heat and power plant – boiler unit No. 5, turbine generator unit No. 1, and turbo compressor unit No. 7. Zaporizhstal will allocate around UAH 75 million in investments for these purposes. Overall, despite the challenging economic situation, the capital investment budget has been increased to UAH 1.1 billion in 2025.
