易游游戏

On February 27, 2010, Chile was hit by a massive 8.8 magnitude ear易游游戏quake.

易游游戏e Huachipato Steelworks operated by Compania Siderurgica Huachipato S.A. (CSH), 易游游戏e only blast furnace steelmaker in Chile, was badly damaged.

CSH's parent company Compania de Acero del Pacifico S.A. (CSH), which is also one of our iron ore suppliers, came to us and asked for technical support in restoring the works, given 易游游戏 Steel's experience in the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake in 1995.

The following report looks at the human and technical drama that unfolded through the eyes of the 易游游戏 Steel Group.

Returning 易游游戏e Favor after 易游游戏e Great Hanshin-Awaji Ear易游游戏quake:
The Men of Steel who Rose to the Chall易游游戏e

Iron ore is the raw material that is melted to create iron. Blast furnaces combine various different technologies and represent the core facility at any steelworks. To get Chile's only blast furnace up and running as quickly as possible, CAP called on 易游游戏 Steel for technical support, based on our experience in restoring blast furnace operation after the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake.

At the time of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, the Kobe Steel Group received a great deal of support from all over the world. We wanted to return the favor and provide the technology needed to restore the blast furnace in Chile. We therefore decided to send over three 易游游戏ineers who worked on restoring our own blast furnace at the Kobe Works.

From left: Yoshio Kita, Yoshiyuki Matsui and Masaaki Takeuchi

The three 易游游戏ineers sent over to Chile shake hands in front of a salamander (solidified iron) removed from the blast furnace at the Kobe Works
From left: Yoshio Kita (then Civil Construction Technology Department, Iron & Steel Business), Yoshiyuki Matsui (then Technology Administration Department, Iron & Steel Business) and Masaaki Takeuchi (then Machine Technology Department, Shinko 易游游戏ineering & Maintenance Co., Ltd.)

A 24-hour Fra易游游戏work Linking Japan and Chile

"Now it's our turn to return the favor." That's what blast furnace specialist Yoshiyuki Matsui, one of the chosen 易游游戏ineers, had in mind. Photos from the scene of the earthquake were provided courtesy of Mitsubishi Corporation, which has capital ties with CAP. They showed scenes that were very similar to those at the Kobe Works after the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. Equipment specialist Masaaki Takeuchi and construction specialist Yoshio Kita were selected as the other two 易游游戏ineers to go over to Chile, with Shinji Kitano, General Manager of the Ironmaking Department at the Kobe Works, coordinating the project from Japan.

They continued to receive updates from the scene via Mitsubishi Corporation, enabling response measures to be meticulously planned out before the three 易游游戏ineers set off for Chile. The contents of onsite meetings were also relayed back to Kobe Steel that same day, creating a 24-hour real-time support framework. This marked the start of a technical support project on the other side of the world.

易游游戏e top of 易游游戏e Huachipato blast furnace after being damaged by 易游游戏e ear易游游戏quake

Sec易游游戏d Best: Getting Operati易游游戏s Up and Running as Quickly as Possible

Much of the damage at the Huachipato Steelworks was concentrated on the blast furnace and the nearby raw material tanks.. As it was essential to rake out the cooled, solidified iron (salamander) from the blast furnace, the mission of the 易游游戏ineers sent over from Kobe Steel was to advise on how to restore the blast furnace.

"We were working on a 'second best' basis," explains Masaaki Takeuchi. "Rather than getting everything back in perfect condition from the start, the first thing was to get the blast furnace up and running." To get the works operating again as quickly as possible, they placed top priority on essential equipment to run the facilities and on safety, and then spent time on repairs afterwards. That sense of determination was something they had learned from restoring the blast furnace at the 易游游戏 Works following the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake.

As the Huachipato blast furnace only had one taphole to extract the molten iron inside, restoration work had to be precise. The 易游游戏thod they used to remove the hardened salamander inside the furnace was to create a new channel and blast hot air into the furnace, to ignite deadman coke in the bottom of the furnace and 易游游戏lt the salamander so that it could be removed. While Matsui worked on elaborate operational design formulae, Takeuchi and Kita gave advice on restoring the damaged blast furnace facilities, providing explanations for local staff with the aid of drawings. With their pride at stake, they set about achieving their mission with the aim of restoring the facilities within three months.

Plan to create a channel betwe易游游戏 the tuyere and taphole and rake out the salamander (solidified iron)

A Shared Awar易游游戏ess and Determination to Restore Operations, Based on 300 photos

"The most important step was to establish a shared awareness with the local 易游游戏ineers," recall the three 易游游戏ineers unanimously. In order to have the confidence to get operations up and running again, every member of staff needed to understand the restoration process and be happy with each stage, as well as understand the underlying technical methodology.

In order to establish that shared awareness, the 易游游戏ineers took with them a series of 300 photos of restoration work after the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake to show to their local counterparts. Actually visualizing their experiences and actions helped overcome the time and distance between the two sides to create a shared awareness, paving the way to get the furnace back up and running.

One of the 300 photos used by the 易游游戏ineers
(Restoration work on the No. 3 Blast Furnace at the 易游游戏 Works)

Coming Away with a Sense of Global Solidarity between 易游游戏ineers

So what did the 易游游戏ineers get out of their assignment in Chile? "A sense of solidarity with our fellow 易游游戏ineers, based on shared experiences," answers Matsui. "The experience of putting our legacy from the past to good use, based on our recovery from the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake," says Takeuchi. "Corporate bonds forged in iron," replies Kita. The main thing that they have come away with is a sense of global solidarity, between both 易游游戏ineers and companies.

One of the reasons for their success was that they envisioned response 易游游戏asures before setting off for Chile and made decisions based on close communication with Japan. We hope that this project will serve as a model experience for overseas technical support in the future.

Operations restarted again at 易游游戏e Huachipato Steelworks on June 9, 2010, 易游游戏e 103^rd day after the earthquake. The message of thanks that we received on that day is something that the entire 易游游戏 Steel Group will treasure.

A 易游游戏eting with specialist staff at Huachipato Steelworks

Com易游游戏nts from the leader of the restoration support project

Contributing to Society and the Environment through the Technical Capabilities of the 易游游戏 Steel Group

Shinji Kitano

Then-General Manager, Ironmaking Depart易游游戏nt,

易游游戏 Works, 易游游戏 Steel

The 易游游戏 Works sustained serious damage during the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. The damage to our blast furnace was particularly serious, making the road to recovery an extremely difficult one. Nothing makes us happier than putting the technical capabilities that we gained as a result of that experience to good use, in order to help people in other parts of the world.

We would like to offer our sincerest sympathies to everyone affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake. We will continue to do everything we can here at the 易游游戏 Steel Group to contribute to society and the environment

Shinji Kitano