Mittal Steel, Poland, awarded SMS Demag AG, Germany, a contract for the turnkey supply of a twin-strand slab caster for its Dabrowa Gornicza (formerly Huta Katowice) works.

The caster will be designed to produce slabs ranging in thicknesses between 220 and 250 mm and widths between 1000 and 2190 mm. The planned annual production is around 3 million tonnes. The caster, which will be capable of slab width adjustment during casting, will also be capable of casting thicknesses up to 300 mm in the future. The ladle turret will have a maximum capacity of 2 x 500 tonnes, with a maximum ladle capacity of 330 tonnes.

The slab caster will be equipped with a resonant mold oscillator to improve the surface finish and in the horizontal area with SMS Demag's patented soft reduction technology. The dynamic segment adjustment system will help to minimize core segregations and suppress core porosities, facilitating the production of high-quality steel grades and making the caster installation a highly flexible unit.

In addition to material tracking, the Level 2 Caster Computer System (CCS) features integrated technological process models such as DSC (Dynamic Solidification Control) and MMS (Mould Monitoring System), which serve to optimally monitor and control the casting process. Based on interaction with the slab yard management system, the slabs will either be processed further or optimally stored.

SMS Demag’s scope of supply includes the mechanical equipment, electrical equipment and automation system including Level 2. SMS Demag will also provide the complete erection, commissioning, supervision of erection and commissioning, and operator training. The turnkey scope includes extension of the caster bay and water supply and treatment system, cranes, concrete and steel structures as well as their erection. Commissioning is scheduled for the beginning of 2007.

As part of an extensive modernization scheme, Mittal Steel's Dabrowa Gornicza Works will replace its existing ingot casting installations and start to produce flat steel products.

SMS Demag AG forms part of the Metallurgical Plant and Rolling Mill Technology Business Area of the SMS group. SMS GmbH is the holding for a group of companies internationally active in plant construction and mechanical engineering relating to the processing of steel, non-ferrous metals and plastics. The group is divided into the Business Areas of Metallurgical Plant and Rolling Mill Technology, Tube, Long Product and Forging Technology and Plastics Technology. In the year 2004 some 9,500 employees worldwide generated a turnover of about EUR 2.20 billion.