In a statement, Danieli said the No. 8 caster is being used to make electrical steels with a silicon content greater than 2%, low- and ultralow-carbon steels, microalloyed structural steels and press hardening grades, among others. 

The caster is making slabs in thicknesses of 225 mm and in widths ranging from 740 mm up to 1,820 mm.

voestalpine invested EUR100 million in the single-strand caster, which replaced the shop’s No. 3 caster, and broke ground in July 2015. It is designed to produce 1.2 million tons annually.