OREANDA-NEWS. On 07 June 2008 was announced, that hot tests of in-line equipment have been launched at the Foundry and Rolling Facility (FRF), whose construction is underway in the Vyksa District, Nizhny Novgorod Region.

On June 2, the FRF Electric Furnace Shop (EFS) started its first test metal-smelting operations using an arc-furnace manufactured by Italy-based Danieli, and produced a trial batch of 140 tonnes of steel. During the smelting process, the following facilities were tested: a scrap conditioning system, an arc-furnace, a ladle furnace, a system for loading loose materials, and a gas cleaning system. After the commission, the annual capacity of Phase 1 of FRF will reach 1.2 million tonnes of hot-rolled steel coils.

According to Konstantin Pityul, FRF Executive Director, the first stage of hot tests of the arc steel furnace has been successful. "The results of today's tests have shown that the equipment is ready for operation," he said. "For all of us this surely is a significant and festive event. We are successfully continuing with preparing the Facility for putting into operation."

During the next few weeks, a unique for Russia thin-billet continuous casting machine, part of the FRF in-line equipment, will be in preparation for hot tests.

The FRF commissioning is scheduled for 3Q2008.