Ingot-credible: LIBERTY Steel UK turns ‘waste’ into pure profit

7 February, 2024

Can you weigh success? For LIBERTY Speciality Steels in Rotherham, the answer is a resounding yes! And that means 12 extra prime ingots virtually out of thin air. The innovative minds at Aldwarke Cast Products (ACP) have achieved this with their Ladle Steel Weight Optimisation project.

It tackled a common steelmaking problem: predicting the exact amount of steel needed in each ladle. Too little and your ingots are incomplete. Too much and it’s costly waste! To address this issue, the ACP team set out a multi-disciplinary team to improve the accuracy of predicting the available liquid steel weight in each ladle and optimise its use.

This required a collaborative effort from individuals across various departments, including Scott Jackson, Martin Johnson, Steve Platts, Leon Barker, Nick Turner, Gareth Griffiths, Matt Houcher, Thomas Dermott, Jack Nelson, the Casting Bay Team, Ingot Bay Team, and Shift QC. Together, they developed and implemented new ways of working to ensure more precise weight measurements at every stage of the steelmaking and casting processes.

Pictured below from left to right: Paul Senior, Gareth Griffiths, Martin Johnson, Nicholas Turner, Leon Barker, Thomas Dermott, Matthew Houcher

A key element of the project was the development of a new computer model that predicts the best way to utilise the available steel in the ladle. This model was successfully tested over a three-month period, demonstrating its ability to prevent run to slag events and generate additional prime ingots.

Annualised over a 12-month period, it is estimated that the new model could have prevented 4 run-to or close-to slag events and enabled the production of a further 12 prime ingots. This translates to significant cost savings and increased production for the company.

The project’s success has paved the way for further improvements. The team is currently working on extending the model to predict the optimal raw material charge weight for the primary steelmaking furnace. The ultimate aim is to automate this calculation within the company’s IT control systems, further streamlining the steelmaking process and maximising efficiency.