BUTLER TWP — AK Steel has heated its first steel in the Butler Works’ new 175-ton capacity electric arc furnace.

Alan McCoy, AK Steel spokesman, said today that this first heat on Friday marked an important milestone after several years of work on the $180 million project.

The project also included a new metallurgy furnace and accompanying ladle. That furnace also began processing molten steel on Friday.

The new electric arc furnace is capable of melting 1.4 million tons of steel annually, about 40 percent more than the previous three-furnace operation built in the 1960s.