March 19, 2012

On Friday, February 24th, members of the APICS Student Chapter at Cleveland State University went on a plant tour at Mittal Steel. Operating in 60 countries, ArcelorMittal is the world's leading steel and mining company. It is the leading supplier of quality steel products in all major markets including automotive, construction, household appliances and packaging.

There were about 20 people in attendance at the tour. Four tour guides split everyone into two groups, taking the groups in vans to visit different parts of the facility since there are different buildings for separate processes. Everyone wore hard hats, safety glasses, and green jackets for protection from sparks and other dangers. Since the noise in the facilities was quite loud, the groups were given headsets so that they could hear their tour guide.

The groups were able to see the entire process of making steel, from when it is molten to when it is a finished coil and ready to sell. The process, described below, is highly automated and very capital intensive:

• 1st process: Molten steel from a blast furnace is moved around in giant cauldrons with enormous cranes, tested for proper composition, and molded into large slabs.
   
• 2nd process: Those large slabs are stacked and moved to another facility, where they are reheated up to 3000 degrees Fahrenheit and run through a hot mill which progressively makes the slab flatter and longer using large rollers and high amounts of pressure. At the end of the mill, machinery coils the steel into 6 ft tall coils.
   
• 3rd process: The coils are run through a cold mill for different types of finishing, including pickling or galvanizing.

Niki Zmij, President of CSU's APICS Student Chapter, commented on how surreal the experience was:

Unfortunately, no cameras were allowed inside the steel making facilities. Nonetheless, all of the attendees had a great time, and seeing the inner workings of this factory was a great experience for everyone.