Ace World Companies has shipped the first quarter, six, of 23 overhead cranes for Big River Steel’s $1.3 billion steel mill and recycling facility located in Osceola, Arkansas.

The overhead cranes, commissioned by the hot mill, range in capacity from 10 to 135 tons, with all machines installed by the end of March 2016. Its cold mill will take delivery of the remaining equipment that May.

The largest overhead crane, a 135-ton capacity system, features a 40-ton auxiliary hoist that will be used to handle a caster tundish, while a single 10-ton unit will be used for maintenance.

Other overhead cranes in the setup include nine of 100-ton capacity with 20-ton auxiliary hoists and two 100-ton capacity machines with 35 ton auxiliaries.

Camron Ghanemi, vice president at Ace World Companies, explained: “Given the magnitude of the order, to ship the first six overhead cranes and be on schedule going into Q4 is very rewarding.

“We are proud to be partnering with Big River on the landmark project and look forward to the on-time completion of the job early next year.”

Most of the overhead cranes in the order are from Ace’s standard steel mill design and equipped to handle steel coils.

The Big River Steel Osceola facility combines the “cost advantages and flexibility of a traditional mini mill” with the production capabilities in gauge, grade and width of an integrated mill.

It will produce a range of high-strength, lightweight steels used in the automotive industry; wide and thick steels used in the most demanding pipe and tube applications; and electrical steels used in the energy industries.

When complete, the Osceola mill is expected to be able to produce 1.6 million tons of flat rolled steel products and will employ approximately 450 employees.

Its location provides the manufacturer with access to the vast majority of domestic steel consumers as well as raw material supplies from across the nation.

Ace’s Kevin Beavers, who oversaw the sales process, added: “This is the largest crane order in the history of Ace World Companies. This has been a huge accomplishment for me and the company to get an order of this scale.”

Ace World Companies on target with largest ever order