Greer Steel Company Completes Major Capital Improvement Initiative

DOVER, Ohio  – Greer Steel Company has completed a series of capital improvements as part of its ongoing commitment to provide customers with exceptional products and services to meet their needs.

The improvements, which were undertaken in the past 18 months and recently were completed, include installation of new equipment along with upgrades to existing operations at Greer’s state-of-the-art plant and service center in Dover, Ohio.

“Greer Steel has a long history of investing in its operations with a single goal in mind – helping our customers achieve success through the highest-quality products and services,” said Todd Daenzer, Chief Operations/Quality Officer at Greer Steel. “The most recent capital improvements are part of a larger initiative to enhance our versatility from a product offering and technical expertise standpoint.”

The most recent improvements include:

  • Packing line expansion and upgrade, which increases the capacity of the line to handle a greater breadth of material. The line’s equipment in the main plant was integrated with equipment in the service center as a parallel line. The upgrade allows for greater efficiency to respond to customer needs and provide more packaging options.
  • Oscillating line installation, which is a single head line that is ideal for small service center runs. The line will enable Greer to provide more options to serve customers with both mill quantities and service center quantities while collapsing lead times.
  • 18-inch reversing mill upgrade, which also includes software and hydraulic improvements. The project allows for faster mill speeds, better gauge performance, reductions in surface defects and positive impacts on customer yields.
  • 20-inch temper mill upgrade, which enhances the surface quality of material. The project will enable Greer to minimize rejects and eliminate potential surface defects.
  • Dual-head slitting line upgrade, which will increase capacity and capabilities to respond to customer needs for larger coils up to 63 inches in diameter.

In addition, Greer undertook a range of infrastructure upgrades, such as crane enhancements and roofing projects.

Greer Steel Company Enhances Management Team

DOVER, Ohio – Greer Steel Company has expanded its management team as part of its continual improvement efforts aimed at ensuring customers receive the highest-quality steel strip products and support services. The appointments include plant manager, quality and environmental systems manager and vice president-commercial, all based at the plant in Dover, Ohio.

Greer Steel provides quality cold rolled strip steel in its Ohio state-of-the-art manufacturing facility. In order to maintain and improve standards of quality, Greer named Scott Rummel as plant manager and Aaron Hall as quality and environmental systems manager. Michael Bulger has been promoted to vice president-commercial.

With Bulger’s promotion, he is now in charge of all sales and marketing functions at Greer Steel. He most recently served the past 12 years as an outside sales representative for Greer, where he was responsible for sales in the Midwest region and management of a cost savings program. He has more than 20 years of experience in the steel industry and a vast background in sales.

With more than 16 years of experience as an operations manager, Rummel has proven achievement in managing operations in flat rolled steel sheet finishing. He also has 12 years of experience in developing and driving process, product and quality improvement initiatives as a senior level process engineer.  Rummel is tasked with directing plant operations and is responsible for putting federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. He is also accountable for logistical planning and oversight of the plant, which includes a service center and slitters, rolling, annealing, pickling, and other processing and packaging equipment.

As quality and environmental systems manager, Hall’s responsibilities include preserving ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certifications and putting government environmental compliance into procedure. He has 15 years of experience in the chemical manufacturing industry, has maintained ISO certifications and worked with Lean Six Sigma to continue operations improvement.

“Our new hires have an understanding of how every process interacts with another and know what is required to stay ahead in today’s challenging steel  market,” said John Raese, president and CEO. “At Greer Steel we are persistent on progressing our organization’s standards and believe these employees will continue our growth and improvement in the industry.”

Bulger has a Bachelor of Science in business administration from the University of Kansas. Rummel has a Bachelor of Science in business administration and industrial management from Youngstown State University. Hall has a Bachelor of Arts in biology from Kent State University.

Recent Improvements for the Best Strip Steel

lincoln2“Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other.”
– Abraham Lincoln

At Greer, we understand that the quality of our product has a direct reflection on the quality of your product. That’s why we are committed to a never ending process of improvement and investment to deliver the industry’s best strip steel. To that end, we recently made a number of upgrades and improvements to our 18″ 4-high Reversing Mill that will improve both surface cleanliness and Cpk performance.

• Hydrometer room revamp
• New coolant control valve and pump upgrade
• New mill drives and associated controls
• Refurbished non-contact isotope gauges
• New mill control software improves Cpk performance by 15%

I believe we share a common resolution and commitment to success. We will never be satisfied with the status quo and will always do whatever is needed to provide you with world class strip and flat wire.

Sincerely,
John R. Raese
President

Greer upgrades four rolling mills, eliminates bottlenecks.

(Dover, OH) — Greer Steel has recently completed a host of significant upgrades on four of its primary rolling mills. In keeping with Greer’s commitment to continual improvement, the upgrades were designed to enhance quality, increase mill productivity and reduce delays and downtime. Improvements were made on Greer’s 30”, 22”, 18R, and wire mills.

Greer’s Vice President of Commercial says, “Customer satisfaction is our highest priority. To that end, we initiated these improvements with a goal of further enhancing the quality of our products and the efficiency and reliability of our production.”

The most significant upgrades were completed on the company’s 30” rolling mill and include the following structural/component changes:

  • Completely upgraded gearboxes and mounting systems minimize edge wave issues allowing for improved mill throughput.
  • Enhanced guide box provides better edge quality.
  • Optimized roll cooling improves product shape and enhances roll life.
  • Improved Cpk performance through improved tolerances between the mill and roll chocks, results in better mill response/gauge correction.
  • Reworked screw-down cylinders minimize potential future down time and possible loss of gauge performance.
  • Redesigned and reworked spindle jacks minimize potential delays for misalignment during roll changes.
  • Two new coolant valves minimize the potential for coolant carryover that can result in surface defects.

Additionally, new mass flow software was installed on the 30” mill, an upgrade that significantly improves the ability to reach “in tolerance” more quickly in the pass schedule. This, in turn, substantially improves Cpk performance.

Greer’s 18” reversing mill also received its share of upgrades: a revamp of the mill’s hydromation room, new coolant valves, a pump upgrade, and the refurbishing of a primary gear box and a spare gear box were initiated to provide a cleaner surface and more efficient production.

Greater efficiency and less downtime are also the benefits of a recently upgraded payoff reel on the 22” rolling mill.

Last, but not least, Greer’s wire mill received an upgraded control panel that has resulted in increased line speed with improved tension control, allowing for faster, more efficient production.

For additional information: 800-388-2868

Greer Steel, founded in 1917, produces cold rolled strip steel to customer specifications including various carbon grades, demanding surface finishes, tight gauge control, and edging, which can be supplied as coils or cut to length. The company is headquartered and has its main plant and service center in Dover, Ohio. Both facilities are ISO 9001-2008 certified and Greer Steel’s metals laboratory is A2LA accredited.

Two More Ebner Annealing Bases for Greer Steel

Use of 100% hydrogen brings increased throughput and faster turnaround. In its never-ending commitment to ongoing capital improvements, Greer Steel Company has purchased two new Ebner 100% hydrogen annealing bases, one additional furnace and one additional cooling cover.

Capable of handling 63” OD coils and an overall stack height of 110”, the new equipment will significantly increase the annealing capacity at Greer’s Dover, Ohio facility.

Scheduled to come online in 2012, the new equipment will provide for increased capacity and faster turn around.  With the addition of the new annealing equipment Greer will have a total of fourteen bases and nine furnaces.

In addition to speed and efficiency, the 100% hydrogen annealing atmospheres achieve excellent Rockwell consistency throughout the strip material.  The
annealed material answers customers’ needs for superior and uniform mechanical properties as well as a cleaner surface that is ideally suited for plating and other critical applications.

According to Greer CEO and President, John Raese, “We’ve made this investment in equipment as part of our unwavering focus on creating a successful future for our company and for our customers. Staying on the forefront of technology and equipment allows us to stay in sync with our customers’ needs and gives us the ability to consistently provide quality strip and flat wire material that meets the most demanding requirements.”

About Greer Steel

Greer Steel produces cold rolled strip steel to customer specifications including various carbon grades, demanding surface finishes, tight gauge control, and edging, which can be supplied as coils or cut to length. The company is headquartered and has its main plant and service center in Dover, Ohio. Both facilities are ISO 9001-2008 certified and Greer Steel’s metals laboratory is A2LA accredited.

Metallurgical Testing Laboratory Open for Business

Greer Steel has announced that the full range of services offered by its renowned Metallurgical Lab will now be available to anyone using metals. For more than 40 years, Greer’s Metallurgical Lab has been an industry hallmark offering Greer customers some of the most extensive and precise metallurgical testing available.

Now, the Greer Met Lab is a resource that is available to anyone requiring top-of-the-line metallurgical testing.

Staffed with highly skilled technicians and degreed metallurgists, Greer’s Metallurgical Lab utilizes the finest metallurgical testing equipment available to provide a full spectrum of tests including bend, Olsen ball punch, hardness, tensile, surface finish,
grain size, inclusion content, decarburization, structure, chemistry, and coercitivy.

 

The need for speed is well understood by the Greer Met Lab. Turnaround time on testing in most cases is frequently no more than one business day.

Laboratory equipment includes:

  • Piranha Iron Worker – Used to determine the ductility of steel under simple bending strain.
  • New Age Hardness Tester & Wilson Hardness Tester – Used to determine the hardness of steel.
  • Tinius Olsen & SAETEC Tensile Machine – Used to evaluate tensile strength, yield strength, and percent elongation of steel.
  • Mitutoyo Surftester – Used for determining the roughness or surface texture of strip steel finishes.
  • Metallographic Microscope – Used to evaluate the internal structure of steels.
  • Nikon Epiphot – TME
  • Unimet Unitron
  • ARL Spectograph – Used for the chemical composition of steels.
  • Magnos Magnetic Tester – Used for determining the coercivity of steels.
  • Ball Punch Testing Machine – Used to determine the draw ability and relative grain size of steel.

For more information, please contact us.  Or, call us at 1-800-388-2868

About Greer Steel

Greer Steel produces cold rolled strip steel to customer specifications including various carbon grades, demanding surface finishes, tight gauge control, and edging, which can be supplied as coils or cut to length. The company is headquartered and has its main plant and service center in Dover, Ohio. Both facilities are ISO 9001-2008 certified and Greer Steel’s metals laboratory is A2LA accredited.

Greer Steel Adds 60” Precision Hot Roll Slitter

Supports expanded product range, increases efficiency, productivity.

 

Dover, OH — Greer Steel Company has completed the installation of a new hot roll precision slitting line at its Dover, Ohio facility. The slitter will be used to process coils prior to pickling and cold rolling.

The new .300”x 60” slitting line is capable of processing coils weighing up to 1000 PIW at speeds up to 900 feet per minute with yield and shear strengths up to and including 120,000 psi. The slitter can pull up to 21 cuts depending on the thickness and strength level of the material.

Built by SMS Demag, Ltd., this particular slitter was selected for its ability to accurately and efficiently support processing of Greer’s increased range of products, including the new Ultra High Strength Steels and allows Greer to process coils that are heavier and wider.

The new slitter will handle coils up to 76” OD and weighing up to 60,000 lbs., gauges from .063”-.250”, incoming widths from 18”-60”, IDs from 20”-30” and coils from 250-1000 PIW. Maximum outbound OD will be 72” and minimum outbound width will be 1.5”.

According to Greer CEO and President, John Raese, “Our customers are looking for engineered products that exhibit improved strength, formability and weight savings over conventional products. To answer that need Greer Steel Co. has expanded its high strength, low alloy steel program to offer ultra high strength grades. Investing in a slitter to support the processing of these products was a decision that was easy to make and that will provide benefits for us and our customers for a long time to come.”
Greer Steel, founded in 1917, produces cold rolled strip steel to customer specifications including various carbon grades, demanding surface finishes, tight gauge control, and edging, which can be supplied as coils or cut to length. The company is headquartered and has its main plant in Dover, Ohio along with its service center in Ferndale, Michigan. Both facilities are ISO 9001-2000 certified and the Dover facility’s metals laboratory is A2LA accredited.

About Greer Steel

Greer Steel produces cold rolled strip steel to customer specifications including various carbon grades, demanding surface finishes, tight gauge control, and edging, which can be supplied as coils or cut to length. The company is headquartered and has its main plant and service center in Dover, Ohio. Both facilities are ISO 9001-2008 certified and Greer Steel’s metals laboratory is A2LA accredited.

Greer Steel Brings Braner CTL On Line

Greer Steel has completed the installation of a new CTL line at the company’s Dover, Ohio facility. Company officials say the new system will provide customers with material that is flatter and, subsequently, will provide greater productivity.

The newly installed high-speed line from Braner USA features a 17-roll flattener with a backer assembly and is capable of processing 72″cold rolled coils up to 30,000 lb x 30″ wide in gauges up from .025 to .220.

Lamar Named As Ferndale General Manager

Greer Steel, one of the nation’s premier producers of cold rolled strip steel, welcomes Curtis L. Lamar to the position of General Manager at the steel company’s Ferndale, Michigan service center facility.

Lamar, a degreed metallurgist, has been an active and successful sales representative for Greer Steel for the past two years. His experience also includes past positions as National Sales Manager, Metallurgist, and Director of Quality at various strip steel concerns including Detroit Strip Division, Rouge Steel, and Cold Metal Products.

“We are very fortunate to have someone with Curtis’ background in metallurgy in this position. We expect that he will be able to provide our Ferndale customers with a very high level of technical support and expertise,” stated Robert Gwynne, executive vice president of Greer Steel.

Lamar’s new duties include the management of the Ferndale facility and implementation of commercial efforts. He will also maintain sales responsibilities for key customers serviced out of the Dover mill and the service center.

Lamar, who is married with two children, is a 1971 graduate of Michigan State University.

Greer Appoints Bates As New Plant Engineer

Greer Steel has appointed Robert L. Bates to plant engineer of the company’s Dover, Ohio facility. Bates, a registered professional engineer brings over 24 years of engineering experience to his new position. Career highlights include his 12-year position as plant engineer with MSC Walbridge Coatings and a 6-year engineering position with U.S.Steel-Gary Works.

Bates holds a BSME degree from Tennessee State University and a Master of Science Management degree from Indiana Wesleyan University. Upon accepting the new position with Greer, Bates, who is married with three teenage children, relocated his family from Bowling Green, Ohio to Dover Ohio.