No time for downtime
Customer: Nucor Steel
Production: Structural steel
Steel temperature: Ranging upwards of 1,191° Celsius
Name of steel mill: Nucor Berkeley
Annual capacity of the rolling mill: over 635,000 tonnes
Every year Nucor produces over 21 million tonnes of steel, making it the biggest steel producer in North America and one of the biggest in the world. Since most of the steel comes from recycled scrap metal, which would otherwise be left to rust and decay, Nucor is also one of the world’s largest recyclers.
In order to produce this much steel, Nucor’s minimills are continuously in operation, melting down and recasting scrap metal. Despite the harsh conditions and extreme temperatures, everything needs to be in perfect working order. When dealing with a commodity as valuable as steel, any downtime is costly.
Currently, Nucor uses Superbolt multi-jackbolt tensioners in two applications on its steel mills, resulting in improved safety and reliability, as well as contributing to more ergonomic working environment conditions for its workers.
Firstly, Superbolt MJTs are used to secure the rolls to the roll chocks. Compared to torque tightened nuts, applying the necessary torque is significantly easier as it can be achieved using standard hand tools, thus eliminating the strain when assembling and disassembling equipment.
Secondly, the tensioners also secure the mill’s stand to the transport cart used in the production process. Originally, this was secured using hydraulic nuts, which were cumbersome, unreliable and thus a safety hazard for employees. However, since switching to Superbolt MJTs, the connection to the cart is now safe and reliable.
