Project Background
Pakistan Railways needed a reliable domestic source of railway steel from scrap. In Lahore, an agreement was signed between Pakistan Railways and Shaanxi Chengda Industrial Furnace Manufacturing Co., Ltd. for the supply of two 5-ton electric arc furnaces, together with installation, commissioning, training and production support.
Project Facts
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Customer | Pakistan Railways |
| Equipment | 2 x 5-ton electric arc furnaces |
| Location | Lahore, Pakistan |
| Product | Railway steel from scrap charge |
| Chengda scope | Design, manufacture, shipment, installation, commissioning, training, production support |
Execution Stages
- Contract and design - furnace specification agreed against the customer's scrap mix and rail steel requirement
- Project start-up - two 5-ton arc furnaces manufactured, factory assembled and tested
- Site installation - mechanical erection, electrical connection and water system testing with the customer's team
- Cold and hot commissioning - no-load tests followed by charge melting, with parameters tuned to local power supply and scrap quality
- Operator training - Chengda engineers worked hand in hand with Pakistani operators, covering power programme, electrode regulation, tapping and safety
- Formal acceptance - the furnace passed the railway company's inspection after a sustained production run
Commissioning Result
During the production support period, which lasted about one month, the customer's team produced roughly twenty heats of steel. Chengda's on-site engineers overcame language and cultural differences through hands-on demonstration and shift-by-shift coaching. The equipment was confirmed to be easy to operate, safe and reliable, and the customer expressed interest in further cooperation.
Why This Project Matters
Small-capacity arc furnaces for foundry and infrastructure steel production are a different engineering problem from large meltshops: flexibility, fast start-up and simple maintenance matter more than maximum power. The Pakistan project shows Chengda's ability to deliver that class of equipment together with the field support that makes it productive from day one.
Documentation Handover
The project was handed over with installation drawings, electrical documentation, commissioning records, operating procedures and a spare parts list, together with on-site training for the customer's operating and maintenance teams.
Building Local Capability
Beyond handing over equipment, Chengda trained the customer's operators to plan power programmes, judge bath condition by sight and sound, control slag and handle tapping safely. That transfer of operating skill is what turns a newly installed furnace into a productive asset.
Chengda's engineers also documented standard operating procedures in simple language, which helped the plant maintain consistent practice across shifts.
The furnaces are now part of the railway's own steel supply chain, reducing dependence on imported rail steel.