Nucor's Continuous Galvanizing Line in the U.S. Produces First Qualified Coil

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On November 4, Nucor's sheet mill in Huger, Berkeley County, South Carolina, successfully produced the first qualified coil on its new continuous galvanizing line. The rollout of the first coil marks the completion of the line's commissioning phase and its official entry into production operations. The line has a designed annual capacity of approximately 500,000 tons and primarily targets the automotive manufacturing market, producing exposed-quality automotive steel and advanced high-strength steel.

Primetals Technologies and France's CLECIM SAS jointly undertook the engineering design and equipment supply for the line. The delivery scope included a vertical furnace with alloying capability, an automation control system, and key process equipment. The line is capable of producing conventional galvanized steel, galvannealed steel, and zinc-aluminum-magnesium coated steel, supplying sheet products of various performance grades for automotive body outer panels, structural components, and safety-related parts.

The new line is equipped with Primetals Technologies' proprietary Rapid Cooling system and Transverse Flux Induction Heating (TFIH) system. The two process units regulate the metallurgical structure and mechanical properties of the material by controlling the heating and cooling of the steel strip, meeting the strength, ductility, and formability requirements of advanced high-strength automotive steels.

The line's vertical furnace consists of a radiant tube heating section and a direct-fired heating section, with the direct-fired section employing Primetals Technologies' proprietary MID burner technology. This is the first application of this combustion technology in a steel production facility in the United States. The furnace design and temperature control system work together to support the continuous heat treatment and coating processes for different automotive steel grades.

Equipment installation and commissioning involved engineering teams from the United States, Japan, India, and elsewhere working alongside CLECIM, covering furnace technology, metallurgical process development, equipment manufacturing, on-site installation, and production commissioning. Primetals Technologies' service workshop in Berkeley County also handled tasks including looper roll installation, furnace roll alignment, and fabrication of key installation components.

Nucor plans to expand its supply capacity for high-value-added automotive steel products through this new line. In addition to conventional galvanized products, the production capability for zinc-aluminum-magnesium coated steel and advanced high-strength steel will broaden its product portfolio for automotive manufacturers. As the line enters the operational phase, customer product certification and capacity ramp-up will still be required to gradually achieve utilization of the designed capacity.