In April of 2014, JNE Consulting received a request for a proposal from one of the most advanced steel finishing facilities in the world to provide engineering support for upgrades to their continuous anneal and three galvanizing lines. Line 1 was to receive improvements to the snout area to increase efficiency. Lines 2 and 3 were to receive upgrades that allow the production of certain grades of advanced high strength steel. Lastly, a new pot was to be added to Line 4 to allow the production of a patented grade of steel with high mechanical strength.

JNE was tasked to work with the operations department and OEM equipment suppliers to develop layout drawings and scopes of work for the installation of the new equipment and processes. JNE provided multi-discipline engineering and design services including civil, structural, electrical, piping, mechanical, process and environmental engineering, project management, scheduling and construction support. In addition, JNE’s in-house panel shop supplied RIO panels, Safety I/O, and dozens of other panels to the various lines.

While JNE was awaiting the start of detailed engineering, it was decided that additional upgrades were required for Line 3. This section of the project was known as phase two. The basic and detailed engineering were both awarded to JNE. The scope included the addition of a new section of furnace, several induction heaters, and a new final cooling section. All existing furnace downstream of the ultra-fast cool section was to be demolished and replaced. JNE developed construction sequencing layout drawings which eventually became the basis of the construction plan.

In total, JNE produced over 1,500 design drawings and documents with over 43,000 man hours worked. The final project cost was estimated at approximately $120M.