LOI Thermprocess has received a contract from ThyssenKrupp Electrical Steel to supply a new HPH^© bell-type annealing plant for grain-refined electrical steel.

LOI will expand the existing bell-type annealing plant at the company's Gelsenkirchen facility with four additional oval annealing bases, four oval heating hoods and the appropriate valve stands. The oval shape of the bases and the hoods allows three stacks to be charged in a row. The weight per stack is up to 65 tonnes with a maximum coil outer diameter of 1,470 mm.

LOI will design the new heating hoods so that they can also be used on the existing bases when necessary. In addition, LOI will convert the existing base control units of the entire annealing plant to advanced ATS 700 technology.

The plant is to be commissioned in the third quarter of 2005.