SMS Meer, a company of the German plantmaker SMS Group, has announced the receipt of an order by Swiss-based Concast, also part of the same group, from Vallourec & Sumitomo do Brasil in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, a joint venture between French-based Vallourec and Japan's Sumitomo Metal Industries, for the supply of a steel plant and equipment for a secondary metallurgical center, as well as a concaster for the manufacture of seamless tubes.
The plant, which is to be built in Jeceaba, Brazil and will comprise an EAF with ladle furnace, a vacuum degassing facility and a concaster, is slated to go into production at the beginning of 2010.
The plant will have an annual liquid steel production capacity of 1.1 million mt, while the concaster will produce round blooms in diameters of 270, 340 and 406 mm.
In addition to the complete supply of the mechanical and electrical equipment, the scope of the Concast supply order includes automation (Level 1 and Level 2), supervision of installation, as well as commissioning and training.