Project - Meltshop Modernization

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Founded in 1865 as the Knoxville Iron Company, the Knoxville Steel Mill of Gerdau Ameristeel has a rich history in the Knoxville , Tennessee area. Originally manufacturing wagon wheels, horseshoes and cannon balls during the Civil War, today – as part of Tampa based Gerdau Ameristeel – they are the leading producer of concrete reinforcing steel in the southeast, with expansion plans for the northeast.

With an eye on expanding their market share in the supply of concrete reinforcing steel, Gerdau Ameristeel initiated a $34 million modernization of their Knoxville Steel Mill’s melt shop and caster facility. R.E. Warner & Associates, Inc. was selected by Gerdau Ameristeel in the spring of 1998 to provide structural, piping, and electrical installation engineering services for the project.

The project consisted of replacing the facility’s existing furnaces and billet caster with new state-of-the-art scrap handling equipment, a new 95 ton capacity electric arc furnace, a new 3 strand billet caster and a new 300KVA single-ended RKV/480V substation, including the RkV feeder and 480V power distribution system. Starting with preliminary engineering aimed at establishing an overall project plan and budget, R.E. Warner worked closely with Ameristeel and the major equipment supplier, Techint Technologies, Inc., to generate sufficient information used by construction contractors to develop their bid prices. After the Board of Directors approved the project in October 1998, R.E. Warner proceeded with the detailed design phase of the project. The first major task was to finalize the general arrangements and project plan. A concerted value engineering effort was made to evaluate all aspects of the project and identify cost-saving opportunities which were then implemented.

The attention to project planning and sequencing of engineering to facilitate construction paid off by allowing AmeriSteel to switch over from the existing meltshop operations to the new meltshop with only an eight-day outage, on schedule, and on budget. In recognition of these achievements, the project was awarded the AISE 2001 Project Excellence Award and the Consulting Engineers Council of Ohio’s 2001 Engineering Excellence Outstanding Achievement Award.


	Project Profile > MELTSHOP MODERNIZATION
	Location: Knoxsville, Tennessee Owner: AmeriSteel Corporation Year Completed: 2000 Project Cost: $34 Million		PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS AISE 2001 Project Excellence Award and the Consulting Engineers Council of Ohio’s 2001 Engineering Excellence Outstanding Achievement Award.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION Founded in 1865 as the Knoxville Iron Company, the Knoxville Steel Mill of Gerdau Ameristeel has a rich history in the Knoxville , Tennessee area. Originally manufacturing wagon wheels, horseshoes and cannon balls during the Civil War, today – as part of Tampa based Gerdau Ameristeel – they are the leading producer of concrete reinforcing steel in the southeast, with expansion plans for the northeast. With an eye on expanding their market share in the supply of concrete reinforcing steel, Gerdau Ameristeel initiated a $34 million modernization of their Knoxville Steel Mill’s melt shop and caster facility. R.E. Warner & Associates, Inc. was selected by Gerdau Ameristeel in the spring of 1998 to provide structural, piping, and electrical installation engineering services for the project. The project consisted of replacing the facility’s existing furnaces and billet caster with new state-of-the-art scrap handling equipment, a new 95 ton capacity electric arc furnace, a new 3 strand billet caster and a new 300KVA single-ended RKV/480V substation, including the RkV feeder and 480V power distribution system. Starting with preliminary engineering aimed at establishing an overall project plan and budget, R.E. Warner worked closely with Ameristeel and the major equipment supplier, Techint Technologies, Inc., to generate sufficient information used by construction contractors to develop their bid prices. After the Board of Directors approved the project in October 1998, R.E. Warner proceeded with the detailed design phase of the project. The first major task was to finalize the general arrangements and project plan. A concerted value engineering effort was made to evaluate all aspects of the project and identify cost-saving opportunities which were then implemented. The attention to project planning and sequencing of engineering to facilitate construction paid off by allowing AmeriSteel to switch over from the existing meltshop operations to the new meltshop with only an eight-day outage, on schedule, and on budget. In recognition of these achievements, the project was awarded the AISE 2001 Project Excellence Award and the Consulting Engineers Council of Ohio’s 2001 Engineering Excellence Outstanding Achievement Award.
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