Kaminpe

The Kaminpe foundry had very restricted access, not for nothing, some called it hell… It is because of the high temperatures, up to 1,600 degrees! that were experienced there in order to melt the scrap.

It was the most dangerous Orbegozo plant there was. Its heavy machinery, the more than 1,600 degrees and the constant work, with five-shift shifts, made this place a real hell. The last years of production even brought a furnace that had the same valves that the Boeing 747 airplane has in the ailerons to be able to fly.

Some workers described it as a dirty and noisy job. There were large tons to handle and if the crane operator got a little careless with the 40-tonne basket, he would start a big problem. To melt the scrap and steel, the temperature had to reach 1,600 degrees, and that was no joke. The walls and vaults of the furnace were cooled with water and if there was a water leak and it met with the steel, it generated an evaporation so violent that it caused a very dangerous explosion. That is the biggest danger in the foundries. There were no deaths due to explosions, but there were deaths because of crushings.

Each of the tubular pieces was capable of making 160 tons of molten steel and scrap every day.