Stein Heurtey was recently awarded a contract by voestalpine Stahl GmbH for the turnkey supply of a 420 tonnes per hour Digit@l walking beam furnace. Stein Heurtey will also supply the charging and discharging machines.

The furnace will be installed at VA Stahl’s Linz, Austria, facility next to two existing 350 tonnes per hour pusher furnaces and upstream of the existing hot strip mill.

The order was placed as part of Phase 2 of VA Stahl’s LINZ 2010 investment programme. Discharging of the first hot slab is scheduled to take place in April 2007.

voestalpine Stahl’s Linz facility uses two fuels — natural gas and blast furnace gas — with the objective of maximum use of available blast furnace gas for environmental reasons.