Production process
At our Odolo plant, we produce steel billets and rebar for reinforced concrete. The steel mill houses an Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) and a Ladle Furnace (LF) for refining the steel’s chemical properties.
The steel billets, from continuous casting, move towards the rolling plant through the heating furnace, the billet welding plant and the rolling train. The steel bars are then cut, packaged, tied in bundles and labelled. The plant can work continuously 24 hours a day.
The processing steps are crucial for the quality of our products, as are the constant checks, ranging from selecting the scrap to geometric, mechanical, chemical and radiometric checks.
01
The raw
materials
The quality of our products is achieved beginning with the choice of the raw materials: our qualified suppliers deliver large quantities of top-quality steel scrap to Ferriera Valsabbia, from industrial processing, large demolitions and collection.
These materials are then selected, subjected to radiometric checks, treated and then recycled within the production process.
02
Produzione
dell'acciaio
From careful processes of recovery and recycling of raw materials comes the scrap steel, which is subjected to an initial radiometric check upon entering the steel works.
Thanks to special baskets, it is then loaded into the melting furnace, Electric Arc Furnace (EAF), which takes it to the liquid state in just a few minutes.
03
Billet
production
The molten metal then passes from the melting furnace to the ladle and, subsequently, to the Ladle Furnace station “LF”, where the liquid steel is purified and refined with the addition of alloy elements to give it the analytical and physical characteristics required by the production standard set by the specific programming. After samples have been taken, which will be subjected to careful chemical and radiometric analysis to accurately determine the characteristics of each individual batch of steel, the ladle reaches the continuous casting machine.
The liquid steel is then made to solidify in a controlled manner in the copper ingot moulds of the continuous casting to transform them into the billets that will make up the semi-finished product needed for the subsequent rolling.
04
Rebar
production
The heating furnace, which is needed to bring the billets up to rolling temperature, operates in a continuous cycle and is powered by methane burners and pre-heated combustion air. The billets to be heated, coming from the continuous casting machine, are placed in the furnace to be brought to the temperature necessary for rolling: continuous casting offers both energy savings and a reduction in environmental impact.
In the rolling mill, a series of calibrated cylinders gradually bring the billets to the desired shape and diameter, up to the most delicate phase: cooling of the bar. The strictly controlled in-line heat treatment is, in fact, crucial to guarantee the optimal characteristics of the product.
After having been subjected to various tests aimed at detecting the physical and chemical characteristics that will be included in the test certificates and a final radiometric check upon leaving Ferriera, the bars obtained finally go through cutting, packaging and labelling, and can be sent to construction sites around the world. Ferriera Valsabbia’s steel bars, in grade B450C, B500B and B500C steel, have improved adherence for reinforcing concrete.
