THE SITUATION

ArcelorMittal, the world’s leading steel and mining company, covers all of the key steel markets, from emerging to mature, in more than 20 countries. At its Dofasco subsidiary in Ontario, Canada, the company had been using an overhead crane for the assembly and disassembly and transport of backup chocks used in the manufacture of rolled steel. The operation required multiple workers to attach bearing housings to backup roll shafts and frequently resulted in costly scoring damage to the backup roll.

The Result

Airfloat has empowered ArcelorMittal to end their dependence on inefficient, hazardous overhead cranes. The air transporter enables single-person operation at ground level which supports one of ArcelorMittal’s core philosophies of maintaining safety as a top priority. In addition, the air transporter virtually eliminates costly scoring damage to backup rolls—a key benefit and reason the client expects the machine to pay for itself in less than a year.

In addition to a satisfied client, Airfloat has been honored for their innovative work by the Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA) who awarded them the 2012 Innovation Award.