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Show Geneva To Modernise Plate, Roller MiB! PROVO Raymond W. Sundquist, general superintendent, superintend-ent, Geneva Works, announced last week that the U.S. Steel plant, near Pleasant Grove, has received authorization to modernize the plant's plate and strip rolling mill and keep pace with more exacting requirements re-quirements for physical quality in flat-rolled steel products by western customers. Mr. Sundquist announced approval ap-proval of the project Wednesday Wednes-day before a Service Awards Luncheon at Provo in honor of 125 veteran Utah steelmakers. After completion "in about two years, additions to modernize modern-ize existing facilities will enable en-able Geneva employees to produce pro-duce plates, semi-finished coils and hot-rolled sheets of improved im-proved quality related" to gage, width, flatness and other physical phys-ical properties for customers in 13 western states and Pittsburg Pitts-burg Works, a sister finishing plant near San Francisco, he said. The 132-inch plate and strip mill, which rolls more than 85 per cent of Geneva's total output, out-put, is the backbone of Utah's steel industry. From soaking pits to finishing and shipping, the operations stretch of a mile under one roof. In his announcement, Mr. . Sundquist credited the mill modernization to progress a-chieved a-chieved in recent years by Geneva Gen-eva employees in their endeavor, endeav-or, known as Errors Zero, to meet a growing challenge by foreign and domestic producers produc-ers for West Coast markets. He called approval of the project "an important vote of confidence" in the Utah steel-nrdMng steel-nrdMng team by U.S. Steel officers of-ficers and directors, who visited visit-ed the integrated plant during the Corporation's Annual Meeting Meet-ing of Stockholders at Salt Lake last May. Future investments in the quarter-century-old plant would largely depend on Geneva employees em-ployees "to uphold this confidence confi-dence and get the most from these new facilities," Mr. Sundquist Sund-quist stressed. He urged veteran veter-an steelmakers at Wednesday's luncheon to renew their commitment com-mitment to achieve future growth for their industry in Utah. Now scheduled for installation installa-tion at the Geneva Mill is a modern automatic gage control system at the finishing stands with a computer control to carry out split-second adjustments adjust-ments in force applied by the big rolls, govern roll speed and interstand tension, and synchronize syn-chronize related phases of the final rolling operation. Other phases of the project call for replacement of an obsolete ob-solete stand, called the scale-breaker," scale-breaker," with a modern unit, plus installation of new guides and entry system at the six-big six-big stands in tandem that finish fin-ish flat steel products rolled by the mill. The major installations, plus revised rolling practices and new standards for improved performance by mill employees, employ-ees, already being implemented, implement-ed, should open up Geneva's marketing potential and make existing facilities at the Utah mill more competitive in physical phys-ical quality with plants of foreign for-eign and domestic producers, Mr. Sundquist said. Pleasant Grove employees honored for 25 years service at the luncheon wree Milton L. West, Lawrence L. Hardman, Eustace D. Kelley, Don E. Brimley, Harry C. Candland, Grant A. Maxfield, Donald Gurney, Joseph D. Hilton. Also, George R. Paul, Cloyd L. Christiansen, Ivan D. Blain, Charles L. Rodeback, Blaine D. Batty, Ivan J. Colledge and Gam B. Dunsdon. |