The largest of its many U.S. steel producing facilities, this Indiana location is comprised of both steelmaking and finishing facilities, With an annual raw steelmaking capability of 7.5 million net tons. Sheet products, strip mill plate in coils, and tin products are manufactured at this massive facility. Hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and galvanized sheet products are produced for customers in the automotive, metal building components, home construction, and appliance markets.

The nature of the steel industry mandates near zero downtime, and its equipment and maintenance schedules are short and spaced far apart. So a very specific set of requirements needed to be met. This limited window of opportunity required a lighting solution that was quite literally “plug and play” for each of the 1000+ lights to be installed in the more than 100 buildings being upgraded at this location. A lifespan greater than the current metal halide fixtures was a must, to avoid replacing lights as long as possible. The existing 1000 watt metal halide fixtures provided sub-par lighting from their mounting heights, so the new fixtures would need to exceed the original foot candle measurements. But the biggest requirement was that the new lighting solution would need to be able to withstand extreme heat, in excess of 140ºf, which is commonplace in the steel industry.

With quick installation times required, but the uncertainty surrounding which mounting options were being used in each location, our customer was provided with 3 mounting options for each fixture. This removed the possibility of installers not having the appropriate hardware necessary at the time of installation and therefore making the process of installation more efficient.

To meet the expectations of increased light output, the EverLast Lighting 480w, dual module Legend Series High Temp fixture was chosen for this project. This solution provided the customer with maximum light delivery via the 30” spun aluminum reflector.

A doubling of light output or greater in many locations providing marked improvements to employee safety and efficiency. The maintenance-free nature of LED fixtures means the maintenance crews at this critical location no longer spend time replacing bulbs. A net savings annually of over $50k and a reduction in kWh used is beneficial to both investors and the environment.