One million 'cokes', please!

16 Aug 2007

Industrial history has been made at Port Talbot steelworks again, as the millionth consignment of coke was ‘pushed’ on Saturday evening. The Morfa coke making facility at Corus’ Port Talbot steelworks pushed 23.5 tonnes of freshly made coke to add to the 23.5 million tonnes that have been produced by the battery of 84 coke ovens since they were commissioned in 1981. At today’s prices the million loads would be worth a staggering £2.8 billion.

High quality coke is an essential ingredient for the two blast furnaces at Port Talbot, which have broken production records this year. In June, the No.5 blast furnace had reached a production level of 48,000 tonnes of liquid iron per week. The ‘push’ refers to the action of the giant ram, which forces the load of raw coal into the oven and, following the bake, pushes the coke out again.

At the controls of the historic ‘push’ of the coke oven was Dennis Brown – Corus employee for 37 years and who has been part of the coke making team at Morfa from day one.

Steve Pritchard, Manufacturing Manager, Coke-Making at Port Talbot steelworks, says: “It was a historic moment for the committed 230 men and women in the coke-oven team, and we’re proud to take the lime-light for this milestone. We all take pride in the contribution we are making to sustaining the production level of 5 million tonnes of steel slab this year.”

Coke is made when high quality coking coal is baked at a temperature of 1,300 degrees centigrade in conditions without oxygen in order that it does not burn. On completing this carbonisation process, the newly made coke is pushed into a receptacle known as a coke car and is quenched by water to prevent it from combusting in the open air before being transported to the Blast Furnaces for steelmaking. The plume of pure white steam from the coke quench can be seen at the steelworks approximately every fifteen minutes.

In 2005 the Morfa coke ovens were rebuilt in stages in order that coke-making would not be interrupted. The re-build prolongs the life-expectancy of the Morfa battery and parallels the £5 million investment into the heavy-end of steel making this summer.

Ends.

For further information, please contact Robert Dangerfield, tel: 0791 726 7795.

• Corus is Europe's second largest steel producer with revenues of £9.7 billion and crude steel production of 18.2 million tonnes in 2006, primarily in the UK and the Netherlands. Combining international expertise with local customer service, the Corus brand represents quality and strength, providing innovative solutions to the construction, automotive, packaging, mechanical engineering and other markets worldwide. Corus is a subsidiary of Tata Steel, the world's fifth largest and second most global steel producer.  With a combined presence in nearly 50 countries, Tata Steel including Corus has 84,000 employees across five continents and a pro forma crude steel production of 27 million tonnes in 2007.
• Corus Strip Products UK directly employs 5,300 men and women in South Wales. A vital part of the local economy, a wide and diverse community of contractors are also involved in the industry.
• Corus has sites across Wales, including Port Talbot, Llanwern in Newport, Trostre near Llanelli, Pontardulais, Caerphilly, Caldicot, near Newport, and Shotton on Deeside.
• Corus is committed to supporting the communities in which it operates. It believes that areas such as health, safety, the environment and developing youngsters not only sustain good communities, but also are important for maintaining the best workforce for the future.