The Hunedoara steel works, formerly known as ArcelorMittal Hunedoara, the Hunedoara Ironworks (Romanian: Uzinele de Fier Hunedoara), Hunedoara Steel Works (Combinatul Siderurgic Hunedoara), and Siderurgica Hunedoara is a steel mill in Hunedoara, Transylvania, Romania.
History
Beginnings in Austria-Hungary Several factors led to the establishment of the works, which were located in an area that was then part of Austria-Hungary: late 19th-century technological development that resulted in increased steel production through new techniques, spurred by the serious need of metal for the Austro-Hungarian Army; the aged and unprofitable methods used by the area's iron workshops; the building of a railroad; and the enlargement of the market due to increased metal consumption in Transylvania's mechanical plants. Building started in August 1882, with two blast furnaces 14.40 m (47.2 ft) high and 110 m3 (3,900 cu ft) in volume. The third furnace, with a capacity of 40–50 tons per day, started to be built in 1884; the fourth was started in 1885 and could produce 10–150 tons a day; and the fifth, which could generate 80–150 tons a day, in 1903. The first three burned charcoal, while the last two ran on coke. Iron ore was extracted from the mine near the Ghelari plant some 16 km away, and was brought there on a ropeway conveyor built at the same time as the first furnace. Increased production of cast iron had led to a greater demand for iron ore, which in turn caused intense extraction of deep deposits in the Poiana Ruscă Mountains. Industrial-scale quarrying began at Ghelari in 1863, followed by shaft mining from 1881. As the ropeway conveyor could no longer handle a significantly enlarged capacity, the 16-km Ghelari-Hunedoara narrow gauge railway was built between 1890 and 1900. Also in the same area were built the 18-km Govăjdia–Bătrâna River funicular for charcoal transport and the 14-km Govăjdia-Bunila one for bringing charcoal and limestone. The latter was also supplied from local quarries and carried in by harnessed pack animals. The works were officially opened on June 12, 1884. The following May, the second blast furnace went into operation, and it was in the years after that Hunedoara became the area's steel-producing center. The factory administration moved there, and the old iron, forging and machine workshops gradually lost their importance, although the Govăjdia Blast Furnace remained active as late as 1918. In 1886, the practice of turning cast iron into steel began at Hunedoara, using new technologies. The cast iron was shipped to steel works at Cugir, Podbrezová, and Diósgyőr, but the technical and economic results were unsatisfactory. Experiments within the Hunedoara works had failed due to deficiencies in the craftsmanship of the improvised equipment, and this was purpose-rebuilt in 1887. However, once they started operating again, a fire destroyed them, after which the 1887 cast iron moulding hall and the experimental Bessemer converter were rebuilt, operating for six months. The opening of the third furnace in June 1890 led to a renewed decision to start producing steel; this happened in 1892 after two 12-ton Martin open hearth furnaces and two Bessemer converters were installed. A fourth furnace, 288 m3 (10,200 cu ft) in volume and 3.3 m (11 ft) higher than the others, started production in August 1895, reaching its planned capacity of 109 tons per day within a month.
Interwar period Transylvania united with Romania in 1918, with the works passing into the ownership of the Romanian government the following year. After 1920, they were now known as the Hunedoara Ironworks (Uzinele de Fier Hunedoara; UFH) and continued as a mining and steel-making center, with considerable holdings of raw materials and output capacity: iron ore mines at Ghelari, Arănieş and Vadu Dobrii; mining concessions at Lunca Cernii de Jos, Alun, Sălciua de Jos, Trascău, Runc, and one near Odorheiu Secuiesc; five tall furnaces producing 119,000 tons a year; a workshop for moulding cast iron pieces with a 1,500 ton-a-year capacity; a forge equipped with two steam hammers; a machine workshop for preparing 500–600 tons per year of moulded or forged pieces; a cinder block workshop putting out up to 1,200,000 bricks each year; a limestone quarry at Bunila; a number of coal depots manufacturing charcoal for the furnaces; a tall blast furnace at Govăjdia equipped with a cast iron mould and a Martin furnace; a 400-hp hydropower plant; a funicular network for carrying materials; a mill; and workshops for agricultural and other types of tools. Starting in 1926, engineers and economists insisted, through proposals they made and carried out, on increased output up to the maximum level. For instance, one plan from that year, by the head mine inspector of the Jiu Valley, called for high growth to be achieved both by using the plant to its fullest capacity; and by refining cast iron to a higher degree, first into steel and then into laminated products, by using upgraded equipment. Between 1937 and 1940, a modern steel production and rolling section was built, with machinery imported from Nazi Germany, covering 8,500 m2 (91,000 sq ft) and fitted with four special components. First, the four Siemens-Martin open-hearth furnaces, heated by six gas generators, could each fit 25 loads of tons, with a total capacity of 90,000 tons of steel ingots per year. The alloy loaded into the furnaces was 75% cast iron and 25% scrap iron, and the hall where they were located was fitted with a mixer for 200 tons of liquid cast iron, to be used during production. Second, the 5 ton-per-load electric furnace produced special steels for tools, including alloys of chromium and tungsten, up to 6,000 tons a year. Later, this was modernized and moved to the foundry. Third, the foundry room with pits for shaping steel into ingots. Fourth, seven sliding bridges: two 50-ton ones; one 3-ton one; one 7.5-ton bridge fitted with electromagnets; two 7.5.-ton cantilever bridges; and one featuring a gripping mechanism for transporting finished ingots.
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