Sep 1 2004
IPSCO Inc. announced today it has successfully produced 123" wide hot rolled coils at its Mobile, Alabama Steelworks. With this achievement, IPSCO has expanded its product line and operating flexibility, further differentiating the Company from its competitors.
"We believe that, coupled with our wide slab casting capability, IPSCO has the widest coil production offering in North America" stated Peter MacPhail, IPSCO's Vice President of Primary Operations. IPSCO's newest steel mill, the Mobile Steelworks, has been increasing its product capabilities steadily since its start-up in 2001. Production rates and product capabilities have consistently exceeded expectations through that period.
The key benefit of this development lies in the potential productivity gains within IPSCO. "There is a significant potential to increase output of the steel mill by rolling wider widths to be slit down for narrow coil applications with external customers or at our own pipe mills and cut-to-length lines," said MacPhail. In addition, these wide coils could be utilized to make longitudinally welded high grade steel line pipe up to 36" in diameter at very high speeds. "While these developments are being evaluated as part of our on going strategic positioning, we are pleased to have demonstrated the steel mill's capability to operate effectively at these widths," he added.
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