150 years of the Shelton Works

A quicker steelmaking method was needed, which could be successful in small units. The most common system then in use was the Austrian LD system.

Shelton didn't choose that, but went instead for its Swedish 'cousin', the Kaldo, and became one of the only plants in the country to do so.

Two Kaldo converters, each with a nominal capacity of 55 tones, were installed, and each could make a charge on about three-quarters of an hour.
A new hot metal mixer was also built, to act as a buffer between ironmaking and steelmaking plants.

But it was the method of taking the molten metal away from the steelplant which made Shelton unique.
The traditional route is to pour, to teem the metal into upright moulds, within which it is allowed to cool and solidify. The moulds are then removed, and the ingots inside are then reheated for rolling into the desired profiles and sizes.