In a statement, SMS group said the caster, designated as the S1 unit, has a nameplate capacity of 850,000 metric tons and is equipped with CONVEX molds, hydraulic mold oscillators, mold and strand electro­magnetic stirrers, and mechanical soft reduction. 

“The S1 casting machine at Saarstahl is the first caster in the world designed with mechanical soft reduction (MSR) technology for a billet cross section of 180 millimeters square. It produces billets in a wide range of steel grades, including bearing steel, spring steel, cold-heading and free-cutting steels,” SMS group said.