JFE Steel to Reline Idled No.3 Blast Furnace at Kurashiki

JFE Steel announced on Monday the firm decided to reline no.3 blast furnace at Kurashiki area of West Japan works idled since January for around 30 billion yen. The firm starts the relining in October to expand the inner capacity from 4,359 cubic meters to 5,055 cubic meters. The firm will decide the commissioning depending on the demand condition.

JFE Steel has 9 blast furnaces including 7 at West Japan works and 2 at East Japan works. The firm stopped the operation of no.3 furnace at Kurashiki in mid-January and no.3 furnace at Fukuyama area of West Japan works in late February when the raw steel production decreased by 28.6% to 11.06 million tonnes in the second half of fiscal 2008 ended March 2009 from the first half.

The demand is improving at home and abroad. However, the demand is expected to keep 60-70% level of the peak in first half of fiscal 2008. JFE Steel decided the relining of no.3 blast furnace at Kurashiki while the firm keeps stand-by position for no.3 furnace at Fukuyama. The firm tries to minimize the operation cost by maximizing the operation rate for operating 7 furnaces while the firm prepares for potential production increase.