Nucor Corp. announced that it recently started up its direct reduced iron facility in Trinidad.
The facility, called Nu-Iron Unlimited, began Dec. 5, 2006, with production starting on Dec. 30, 2006.
In the second week of production, the Nu- Iron team completed a five-day performance test surpassing an average production of 220 tons per hour, producing DRI containing more than 2 percent carbon.
"We are extremely pleased with the start-up of Nu-Iron in Trinidad, as it represents the largest current component of our strategy to control six to seven million tons per year of high quality metallics for the Nucor steel mills," said Dan DiMicco, Nucor's chairman, president and CEO. "Our team in Trinidad from construction to operations has done an outstanding job relocating and expanding the capabilities of the plant."
Joe Rutkowski, executive VP of Business Development, added, "Midrex has informed us that, in their experience, this is one of the quickest plant ramp-ups from heat up to full production. We have produced over 50,000 tons of high quality DRI and are very proud of Nu-Iron's progress. We expect to ship our first vessel to Nucor mills this week."