Heat Treat Industry News

December 6, 2007

Siemens to Build World’s Largest Slab Caster

Siemens Metal Technologies has received an order from Korean steel producer Posco to install a slab caster capable of casting 400-mm-thick slabs at its Pohang Steelworks. The machine – a twin-strand ultra-thick slab caster – will be the largest of its kind ever supplied worldwide. Siemens will provide engineering, key equipment, technological packages and advisory services for start-up and commissioning. The first slab is scheduled to be cast on the new caster in February 2010.

Posco’s decision to add the new caster was prompted by growing demand in Asia for ultra-thick plates as required for the construction of pipelines as well as in the shipbuilding industry. The new machine will have a nominal casting capacity of 1.3 million tons per year.

SDI already has an expansion project underway at Columbia City, to install a new medium-section mill for about 1 million tons/year of steel sections, some of which are currently rolled on the plant's existing section mill. In addition, Siemens is already at work expanding the original three-strand bloom/beam caster at Columbia City for a fourth strand.

Siemens Metal Technologies will install the new four-strand caster (with possible expansion to five strands) to supply semi-finished products to both the structural and rail rolling mills. The engineering group states the new machine will introduce several technologies to North America, including Dynamic Soft Reduction for billet and bloom casting and the first DynaGap (two module) soft-reduction unit for bloom casting.

Siemens will engineer the machine and supply components, including plate molds, external MEMS, hydraulic oscillation, and air-mist secondary cooling, as well as its own DynaSpeed metallurgical cooling model, cassette-type soft reduction units, full Level 2 automation system and technological models, and Siemens modular PLC architecture.

SDI has maintained responsibilities for construction and installation. Start-up is scheduled in early 2009.

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