On a regular basis, Dominion Mill Service efficiently handles the demanding need for a variety of necessary furnace and ladle maintenance jobs at the Ternium Guerreo steel plant in Monterey, Mexico.

Mexico’s largest steel producer, Ternium strives to meet ongoing housing and infrastructure market needs for material to fabricate roofing, building mezzanines, insulated walls in offices and customized applications for corrugated bars, specialized product dimensions and tube and profile punching.

Gradall Versatility Advantages

Allowing for only minimal downtimes, Dominion efficiently handles monthly needs for teardown work on Ternium’s two electric arc furnaces and ladles using three Gradall metal mill maintenance models – one XL 5210 V machine acquired in 2021 and two XL 5210 III Models, both mounted on stable, heavy-duty crawler undercarriages.

"These are strong, robust machines," said Alejandro José Ramirez Calderón, Director General for Dominion. Both models are equipped with Rammer model 1322 hammers, with moil point tools in lengths from 4 to 13 feet to meet the requirements of various tasks. Complementing the Gradall machine's 14-foot telescoping boom reach and 360-degree full boom tilt, operators can safely reach out and position the moil point tools inside furnaces for cleaning twice a month without the need for dramatic cooling below their 1500-degree F working temperature. “That’s a dramatic improvement over the alternative process, moving a smaller machine into the furnace for cleaning, which requires a furnace cool-down that creates an unnecessary delay in the resumption of steel production," said Alejandro, noting that each furnace typically produces some 140 metric tons of steel each year.

Furnace teardown – removing refractory brick from the furnace and ladle walls and then raking and removing slag – can also be completed in higher heat. EBT hole cleaning, performed 10 times per month for each furnace, does not require any cooling, allowing for faster resumption of steel production.

"The size of the Gradall machines and their exceptional boom power allows us to do the work faster than any other machine on the market," said Alejandro "As a result, this plant has the fastest maintenance turnaround time for any Ternium plant."

To handle the rigors of metal mill work, Gradall machines have a heavy- duty boom cradle located safely away from the working tool. Further protection from high heat is provided by stainless steel braided hose with fire sleeves and hydraulic hose and tube clamps – all safely concealed inside the rugged boom.

Operator safety is assured with features like specialized glass and clear visibility in all directions, protective window guards and heat shields. Inside the temperature-controlled cab, operator appreciate the comfortable, adjustable seating modules with joystick controls conveniently built into the armrests. The stable crawler carrier is efficiently repositioned using foot pedals.

Various hammer, drill, ripper and bucket attachments can further extend the versatility of Gradall metal mill maintenance machines.