In a statement, SMS said the 5-strand caster, designated as S1, will be installed at Saarstahl’s Völklingen plant. The caster is being designed to produce 850,000 tons of 180 mm square billets in SBQ grades, SMS said.  

"The S1 continuous casting machine will come with state-of-the-art equipment, such as Convex molds, a hydraulic mold oscillator, electromagnetic mold and strand stirrers, mechanical soft reduction, and modern automation and communication technology (that meets) Industry 4.0 standards," SMS said in a statement. 

Saarstahl announced the EUR100 million project in September 2017. At the time, it said the new caster will incorporate mechanical soft reduction technology, making it the first in the world to apply the complex process to 180 mm square billets.  

The company has said it was the first to apply the process to 150 mm square billets. 

"This new continuous casting plant is a further quantum leap in the technological development of the Saarstahl group," said Fred Metzken, board of directors spokesman.

"With the new S1, we are thus achieving further improvements regarding the quality and dimensions of the products as well as the production processes."