Indian steelmaker Tata Steel has announced that it has restarted its blast furnace No. 4 at the Port Talbot steelworks in the UK, the second blast furnace to be restarted at the steelworks in question, following the completion of a £185 million rebuilding project.
The restarting of the blast furnace, completely rebuilt, incorporating the latest technology to improve energy efficiency, environmental performance, safety standards and capacity, will improve Tata Steel's operational flexibility and enable it to better serve customers in the UK and the rest of Europe. The blast furnace was decommissioned in July 2012.
According to Tata Steel's statement, the molten iron from the furnace will be converted into high-quality steel for a wide range of customer sectors, including construction, automotive, lifting and excavating, domestic appliances and packaging.
Meanwhile, the start-up of the new furnace has enabled Tata Steel to restart its second hot strip mill in South Wales. In anticipation of the furnace restart, the Llanwern hot strip mill resumed production in December last year.
