Mobile Air & Power Rentals

Scope Of Work

Severstal North America expanded its Dearborn, Michigan operations in 2011 by opening a new Hot Dip Coating Line (HDCL) and Pickle Tandem Cold Mill Building (PLTCM). These additions, along with several other concurrent projects, increased the company’s steelmaking capacity to 2.1 million tons annually – a whopping 27% increase. This output firmly establishes Severstal as the 4th largest steel producer in the United States.

Getting there required a massive construction effort. The company planned a 770,000 sq. ft. building with ceiling heights as high as 96 ft. The structure was big enough to fit 17 Wal-Mart stores inside with room to spare. This was one enormous project - and one supersize heating challenge.

The Heat Project

Barton Malow needed the PLTCM building heated through the 2009-2010 winter season. The scope for winter heat control was almost 300,000 sq. ft. and included ceiling heights from 51 ft. to 96 ft. – an estimated volume of 24.6 million cu. ft. of space. To help protect incoming coil equipment and electrical switch gear, Barton Malow required heat of 55 ?F at a height of 6 ft. Furthermore, they needed sustained lower 40% relative humidity and no cold spots throughout the building. With wide-open bay doors for equipment ingress on a daily basis and deck heights of 96 ft., that was one tall order.

Safety Concerns

Additional issues that impacted the heating plan included the type and quantity of work being performed within the building. Hundreds of skilled trade workers used large-scale mobile lifting devices and overhead cranes to move process equipment into place, where it had to be bolted and welded. With all these people and machines vying for space, there was no room for heaters on the floor – and anyway, the associated fuel hoses would have posed a safety risk due to the level of activity at the site. There was also a concern for air quality and its affect on the workers enclosed in the building every day.

Mobile Air Delivers

Mobile Air designed a temporary heating system that met all of Barton Malow’s requirements. The system protected valuable machinery and electrical switch gear as well as removed accumulated hot air from the ceiling decks. Furthermore, Mobile Air's solution mechanically controlled positive pressure in the space for optimal heating performance during daily equipment movements into the building, kept equipment out of the way, and maximized air quality.

Mobile Air provided the design and equipment, and worked closely with the Barton Malow team to implement the solution at the project site.