TEMPORARY SHUTDOWN WCI workers prepare for relining of blast furnace
Sections of the mill will be idle for two to six weeks.
By CYNTHIA VINARSKY
VINDICATOR BUSINESS WRITER
WARREN -- Workers at WCI Steel are making final preparations for the $15.3 relining of the mill's massive blast furnace, a six-week process set to begin Thursday, which will eventually close down the entire steelmaking operation temporarily.
Preparations for the crucial relining began about six months ago, WCI spokesman Tim Roberts said. Special heat-resistant bricks were ordered, and the mill began processing steel in advance to meet the needs of its key customers.
WCI is working to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and originally planned to borrow money for the relining. Officials say the company can afford to pay for the work on its own now, thanks to recent profits related to an upturn in the steel industry and higher steel prices.
WCI employees will work with subcontractors to replace the brick lining in the blast furnace where iron ore, limestone and coke are combined to produce molten iron, the basic ingredient in steel. The last relining was done in 1995.
Plans are to close departments as they finish processing available material, starting with the blast furnace, and followed sequentially by the basic oxygen furnace, the hot mill and the continuous caster.
What's expected
The blast furnace will likely be idle until mid-July, but other mill sections may be shut down just two or three weeks. Roberts said the relined furnace is set to resume production July 17.
Other improvements and maintenance chores are also planned during the shutdown, including replacement of the roof on the ladle metallurgy building, parts replacements on the continuous caster and generator and motor work on the tandem mill.
Most hourly and salaried employees will be off work during the shutdown, either furloughed or on vacation, except for maintenance crews working on the mill improvements.
Other matters
Meanwhile, a confirmation hearing on two competing proposals to buy and operate WCI is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. June 8 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Akron.
WCI has submitted a plan to restructure its debts and continue operations in which its parent company, New York-based Renco Group, would invest $35 million in new money and would assume ultimate responsibility for WCI's pension plan, should the steelmaker be unable to afford its cost.
A group of creditors, which together hold $324 million of WCI's secured bond debt, is also vying for the right to buy and operate the company.
United Steelworkers of America Local 1375, which represents WCI's 1,330 hourly employees, has approved a tentative bargaining agreement with WCI and favors the company plan.
That plan has not yet been ratified. Michael Rubicz, Local 1375 president, said the union is preparing documents explaining the proposed agreement, which will be mailed sometime in June. Rubicz expects to schedule a ratification vote in mid-July.
vinarsky@vindy.com