JFE Steel Corporation announced today that it has finished revamping the No. 6 blast furnace at the company’s East Japan Works (Chiba) and blew-in the facility on January 13. The revamping process began last September and was carried out at cost of about 43 billion yen. Furnace volume remains unchanged at 5,153 m³.

The furnace is now in its third campaign (operating cycle), following previous campaigns that began in June 1977 and May 1998.

The revamping has helped to stabilize furnace operation by adopting data-science technology to improve the accuracy of both the positioning of material charging and controlling furnace heat. In addition, adjacent equipment has been updated to improve workability and extend the life of the furnace body.

Going forward, JFE Steel will continue to monitor trends in steel demand to ensure that its production operations remain capable of swiftly and flexibly meeting evolving demands.

About JFE Steel Corporation

JFE Steel Corporation, one of the world’s leading integrated steel producers, was established through the consolidation of NKK Corporation and Kawasaki Steel Corporation in 2003. The company operates several steelworks in Japan and numerous branch offices and affiliates throughout the world. JFE Steel leverages world-class technologies and know-how to produce a wide range of products based on its “Only One, Number One” strategy of focusing on unique and best-in-class products. The company reported consolidated sales of 2,255 billion yen and consolidated crude steel output of 23.96 million tons in the fiscal year ended March 2021.

# # #