ITC Coatings Achieves Greater Than 25% Reduction in EAF Electrode Consumption for MidWest US Steelmaker

Ft. Worth, TX: In a preliminary trial with a large midwest steel mill, ITC Coatings was able reduce consumption of 24” EAF electrodes by 25-30% at the steelmaker’s facility. The remarkable result was achieved through the use of a new proprietary coating that was sprayed on to one phase of an Electric Arc Furnace at the facility over the course of a ten-day preliminary trial, to prove the efficacy of the coating to reduce oxidation and penciling of graphite electrodes.

In a project sponsored by the US Department of Defense’s Defense Logisitcs Agency, ITC is working in conjunction with EAFab Corp., a Pittsburgh-based design and construction firm that focuses on providing melt shop solutions in the steel industry to design a fully-automated platform for delivery of ITC 303 EC to electrodes at the steel mill. The automated delivery system will be seamlessly integrated into the melt shop’s production process to provide maximum benefit and minimal downtime.

“We are thrilled to achieve such incredible results in extending the life of EAF electrodes,” said Justen Womack, President of ITC Coatings, a Fort Worth, TX based manufacturer of industrial coatings “and we’re excited for the next phase of the trial, where we believe additional benefits realized by the melt shop will cause overall savings to be even greater, resulting in millions added to the bottom line.”

Benefits of ITC 303 EC for electrodes in electric arc furnaces include:

⁃ Reduced consumption of electrodes by 25-35%
⁃ Reduced penciling and fewer stray arcs
⁃ Reduced power consumption
⁃ Reduced heat times and tap-to-tap times

For further information about the delivery system and the benefits of ITC Coatings in the steel mill, producers can contact Greg Odenthal at (412)498-7270 or greg@itccoatings.com