METERRA Project: an integrated joint international strategy at the Danube

Project of developing infrastructure of the Free Zone is bringing new international investors as well as already customers and international markets Shipyard Giurgiu, ILC logistics, OSSA)
The company produces specialty steel dedicated to the aerospace industry, power generation industry (wind & energy, oil & gas), and metallurgy manufacturing industries for dedicated markets and allies.

Equipments and capacities:
Air induction furnace – AJAX MAGNETHERMIC – with 2 (two) power-share crucibles of 6,0 tons each. For a working time fund of 300 days/year, this furnace, ensuring the necessary casting equipment, can produce up to 43.000 tons of steel .

Part of this production will be directed to the vacuum furnace as liquid start.
Vacuum degassing and pouring furnace – VIDP1000, type ALD VACUUM TECHNOLOGY – with 8,0 tons capacity/melt. For a working time fund of 300 days/year, this furnace can produce :
up to 12 – 13,000 tons of ingots, with solid scraps start ;
up to 18 – 20,000 tons of ingots, with liquid start
Electroslag refining unit – ESR type ALD Vacuum Technology – with actual capacity of 1.20 – 1.40 tons/melt. Actual ingot dimensions : Ø 320 and Ø 350 mm. For a working time of 300 days/year can be produced up to 2,000 tons. To ensure higher production, there is spare room for a second ESR unit.

Processes raw materials to produce :
ESR ingots, Ø 350 mm diameter, using one of the following methods :
Air melt + Vacuum refining + ESR remelting
Primary air furnace melting
Vacuum degassing, refining, alloying and casting of Ø 280 mm ESR electrodes
Electroslag refining
Vacuum melting + ESR remelting
Vacuum melting, degassing, alloying and pouring of Ø 280 mm ESR electrodes
Electroslag remelting
Bottom cast forging ingots
Where ESR is not ‘’a must‘’, with proper casting equipments, following production methods can be used :
Air melting – up to 6.00 tons/ingot
Will be applied for steel grades without severe prescriptions
Air melting+Vacuum degassing – up to 8.00 tons/ingot
Will be applied for steel grades with less severe prescriptions
Vacuum melting, degassing and pouring – up to 8.00 tons/ingot
Will be applied for steel grades with severe prescriptions
Using one of the above production methods, METERRA equipments are suitable to produce :
Low and medium alloyed steel grades for forged parts in machinery industry ;
Cold work alloyed steel grades : drawing tools, punches, stamping tools, bending cold rolling ;
Hot work tool steel grades : pressure casting, forging tools, die forging, hot rolling ;
High speed steels for machining
Martensitic and austenitic stainless steel grades
High alloyed refractory steel grades ;
For special grades like : duplex, maraging grades or Nichel/Cobalt base superalloys, German highly trained specialsts can offer, on request, technical assitance.

Special steel grades
Steel grades 1-5 are realised by air induction furnace elaboration (CIA) with a capacity of 250 Kgs and 6000 Kgs.
There are also several alloy and super alloy steel that can be produced:
Stainless steel and refractory according to STAS 11 523-80
Stainless steels processed by hot deformation according to STAS 3583-87
Nickel-based superalloys
Copper base 99.95 purity and Cu based alloys (forged bronze, brass, alloys Cu-Ni, etc.).

Raw materials
The basic raw materials are scrap-iron and ferroalloys for alloying. All raw materials are provided by inland suppliers. Meterra’s annual consumption of ferro-alloy is approximately 5,000 – 6,000 tons.
Quality certificates
Finished products are delivered along with quality certificates which include the chemical analysis, dimensional control, ultrasound control, macro and micro-determinations of structure (Wirtz-Buehler microscope and the devices required for sample preparation). Determinations are performed in the Company’s own laboratory which is equipped with: a sample milling machine (Herzog), a grinding machine, a sample polishing machine (Herzog), a Buehler microscope, an ARL 3460 spectrometer and a QPF quantoport.
Specialty steel melting shop Meterra SA assets
( land, buildings, main & auxiliary equipment )
Modern steel mill specialized in the production of specialty steel and super alloys ingots for the aerospace industry, military industry , power generation industry (nuclear power plants ,wind generators &parts ,other energy sectors) ,oil & gas industry ,metallurgic industry, heavy industry, machinery ,tools ,etc being among the few companies in Southeastern Europe endowed with the VIDP technology for ingot steel manufacturing supplied by ALD Technologies in Germany. It is unique concept by process design , increasing capacity and reducing cost & operation time by loading the VIDP 1000 with liquid melt , prepared by upstream placed Ajax Magnethermic air induction furnace of 2x 6 tons crucibles.
OSSA SA Cristuru Secuiesc Romania – a major integrated and pivotal asset for the alliance
The melting process is uniquely design for increasing capacity of the bottleneck (VIDP ) and reducing operation time and cost on it (VIDP) .
Estimated production capacity is around 12 000 tons/year for specialty steel &super alloys ingots ; is possible to be delivered also ingots as well as precision cast parts. The production of 12,000 tons/year represents 85% capacity utilization both availability of the plant and production yield.
From 12 000 tons ingots of specialty steel 2500 tons/year could be re-melted under slag on the ALD ESR 1.3 tons electrodes.
The fact that the melting shop determines the manufacturing capacity opens ways to various future development solutions.
The company uses the most up-to-date equipment available, including: open air induction melting furnaces (IM) with a capacity of 30 000 tons/year from AJAX Magnetoherm UK, vacuum degassing induction and pouring (VIDP) furnace and electro slag re-melting (ESR) furnaces from ALD Germany and support equipment from other reputed manufacturers.
Specialty steel melting equipment
Air induction furnace AJAX MAGNETHERMIC- 2 x 6 tons crucibles, to introducing the auxiliary equipment
An open-air furnace, with two melting stations, 6 tones/ crucible capacity and a single power supply, for melting down scrap – CIA –Ajax Magnethermic for a time pool of 300 days/year, with an annual capacity of 30,000 tons of which 10,000 tons of liquid steel for the VIDP furnace, and 20,000 tons for direct casting of steel ingots (need a new platform for casting )
Vacuum induction melting and casting furnace of 8 tons – VIDP (Vacuum Induction
A vacuum furnace, 8 ton capacity, for vacuum treatment up to 10-12 mbar, alloying, inert gas bubbling and casting. The Vacuum Induction Degassing and Pouring Furnace (VIDP), manufactured by ALD Vacuum Technologies GmbH, Germany, is part of the new generation of furnaces that produce ultra-pure alloys starting from the traditional technology of vacuum induction melting (VIM) working for a time pool of 300 days/year, operating 100 days/year with solid load to 2,000 tons and 200 days/year with liquid load to 10,000 tons, resulting in an annual overall capacity of 12,000 tons.
The management of the entire VIDP system is computerized and the production software(updated to 2012 ) indicates the most appropriate charge according to the ferroalloy used. The ferroalloy saving determines a particular cost structure in which the ferroalloy accounts for only 50%, while old iron costs amount to 20%, energy costs to 20% and the remaining 10% are other costs. The equipment allows for both electric power saving (through the absence of an intermediary phase, as the smelting mass is taken over directly between the VIDP and the air induction furnace) and ferroalloy saving.
Electroslag re-melting unit of 1.3 tons
ALD -ESR 1.3 tons – for a time pool of 300 days/year, with an annual capacity of 2500 tons.
The equipment allows for both electric power saving (through the absence of an intermediary phase, as the smelting mass is taken over directly between the VIDP and the air induction furnace) and ferroalloy saving and important operation cost saving
The management of the entire ESR system is computerized and the control process software is updated to nowadays international standards and certifications.
Equipment for further development –forging line project
Equalizing and maintaining temperature steel billets heating &soaking equipment (Ajax Magnethermic )
Preheating oven and maintenance oven for forming small billets for forging (specialty steel or non-metal super alloys (copper,Ag,etc)
Electric hearth ( walking beam ) furnace (Andritz -Maerz – Gautschi)
electric pre heating furnace for ingots to be prepared for forging press: former Maerz Gautschi (actual Andritz Maerz)
36 000 sqm of land in Free Zone Giurgiu .Meterra is the only owner of land in Free Zone Giurgiu ,all the other land is owned by the Free Zone and is rented to all other companies
· 25 000 sqm of buildings for industrial use from which :
o 5000 sqm renovated industrial hall for steel melting shop
o 20 000 sqm industrial hall for further developments (forging ,thermal treatment, parts manufacturing ) .Renovation is easy and low cost .
o 2000 sqm for offices and social activities ( modern projects available )
· automatic doors for easy access
· concrete technical platforms
· infrastructure is very solid, (22 meters height, 2 to 6 meters underground) , supported by very solid ,big metal poles ,heavy way support for bridges for big weights
· 2 water deep wells 200 m
Meterra is located in the former cast iron and steel plant of ICMUG Giurgiu, situated in the Giurgiu Free Trade Zone(which can present significant fiscal and customs advantages), and holds the only land ownership title in the Free Trade Area (unlike other businesses, the Company only pays free trade area taxes).
Meterra’s strategic location provides access to the Giurgiu harbor on the Danube, as well as to the railway.
In the steel industry, transportation costs are important, and the company is strategically located at the crossroads of major markets: Western and Central Europe, Southern Europe, the Balkans, the Middle East and Central Asia. The company is located near the port, railway and highway link.
Competitive advantages of location :
· The factory is located in Free Zone Giurgiu,Romania and enjoys geographical good position for transport by river, by sea, by road and by train which is adding a serious advantage to commercial
· River transportation facilities. The factory is located at Giurgiu, a Danube harbor. It assures a cheap and convenient fluvial transportation to the Black Sea, and to the Central and Western Europe, as far as to the North and Baltic Sea;
· Land transportation facilities. Distance Giurgiu Istanbul is 590 km Giurgiu is located on the border of Romania with Bulgaria ,at 60 km South-East of Bucharest on the E20 European express way, connecting Stockholm to Istanbul. There is an important European project aiming at developing the TransEuropean highway on all the areas that are still lagging behind the Western standards. There is an important international railway traffic through Giurgiu. The Orient Express Line makes a brake in Giurgiu before crossing Danube over the “Friendship Bridge” to Ruse, Bulgaria. The European Main Railway Line, coming from Ostende (Belgium) through Berlin, Prague, Budapest, Bucharest, is passing over Giurgiu to Ruse and Sofia and then to Istanbul or to Athens;
Support
The project enjoys geographical, economical, technological and market outstanding facilities that make of it a unique business opportunity:
- Economic and fiscal facilities still offered by “Giurgiu Free Zone”;
- Low cost labor force available. Bought the production facilities & Thousands of trained workers available in the Giurgiu area trained for the more sophisticated new operations.
- Access to huge quantities of steel scrap. The factory uses a raw material made of 74% steel scrap. In Romania there are many out of use production facilities and equipment, transportation material, metal profiles, etc. One can find even high alloy steel scrap like used dies, tools, pipes, etc. that cannot be utilized because of lack of melting capacities. Easily supply with steel scrap from the neighbor countries (Russia or Ukraine especially), and also from the exchanges where the alloyed scrap is quoted;
- The integrated technology and technological continuous flow concept associated with the most up-to-date equipment available in Europe lead to outstanding competitive advantages, such as:
- Higher quality then the common competition. The advantages of the modern preparation of the raw material, the open-air furnace and the ALD Vacuum Induction Degassing and Pouring Furnace, lead to the elaboration of ultra-pure alloys and of stainless steels with a very low content of carbon;
- Shorter melting, casting, and re-melting period, controlled by process computers;
- Important savings, up to 40%, of the power consumption, due to one heat process, through which the energy accumulated during melting is conserved;
- Reduced specific consumptions;
- Low cost of electric energy
- Reduced personnel in all phases of activity: the factory will use a total of 145 employees ( 85 in the beginning ) to produce a turnover of EUR 85 million (increasing up to 150-300 million Euro/year after 5 years and depending on the product types ) that means a productivity of EUR 600.000 per employee/year;
- High automation processes allowing an effective control and pro-active corrections; well-equipped central laboratory, providing product testing in all stages of the production process.
Additional
- The possibility to contract and collaborate with the Titanium company in Giurgiu (both ways –supplier and customer )
- The possibility to initiate a Research &Development program financed by EU (and/or Romanian Government ) for the study of new materials using new gas for refining and melting together different metals and non-metals
- Extension of activity with a furnace for sintering powder and a press for auto industry ( very fast developing in Romania and Turkey )
- Possible investment in 6000 sqm industrial hall connected with our hall and equipment for sintering and containers manufacturing
- Extension with a RAV furnace to complete range of products
- Completion of the initial project : precision forging press, thermal treatment and parts manufacturing (projects available and contacts )
- Commercial contacts with customer prospects of Meterra (big companies ) in Romania and abroad
- Contacts with suppliers
- Low cost of scrap (Turkey is importing from Romania )
- Contacts with specialists and Research Institutes in Romania and EU
- Organization ,strategy and business support available based on initial actions and experience of Meterra
Free zone in the EUROPEAN UNION, Giurgiu, one of the few remained, is giving fiscal advantages to work with EU and non EU customers.
Future development of the zone : By the EU decision the Giurgiu and Ruse (Bulgaria ) will become one city and industrial and touristic area. A.R.).
Pictures: Dan Tigau- general manager of Mettera and a NATO expert
.