German plantmaker SMS Demag has announced that Indian steel producer Rourkela Steel Plant, a subsidiary of steelmaker Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), has placed an order with the company for the supply of an X-Cast® slab caster for its Steelworks No. 2.
The single-strand caster, designed as a vertical bending plant, is intended for slabs in gages of 220, 250 and 300 mm and in widths from 1,300 to 2,500 mm, and will allow Rourkela to produce the widest slabs in India.
The order includes SMS Demag's basic and detail engineering, the supply of all mechanical components for the caster and the complete X-Pact® electrical and automation systems, including the control systems and process models.
The new caster will allow Rourkela to cast mainly sophisticated microalloyed steels and heavy plate grades, and to increase annual slab production at its Steelworks No. 2 by 1.5 million mt.
The commissioning of the X-Cast® slab caster is scheduled for 2011.