Germany-based steelmaker thyssenkrupp has announced that it has reached a significant milestone at its Bruckhausen site in Duisburg, with the successful start of trial operation and casting of the first slabs on the new continuous casting line 4 (SGA 4), marking the largest single investment project in recent decades.
"The new SGA 4 will form part of one of the most modern production networks in the European steel industry. It is a central building block in our strategy to ensure there is a bright future for efficient and sustainable steel production at the Duisburg location. Equipped with high-tech automation and casting technology, the line enables high-precision, flexible and efficient slab production with significantly improved shape accuracy and surface quality. Advantages that will help our customers in their competitive environment," said Dennis Grimm, thyssenkrupp Steel's CEO.
The company pointed out that successful production of the first slabs is an important step on the way to taking the new plant complex fully into operation, which will be taking place step by step over the next few weeks. These include the new fully automated slab storage yard and the completely modernized hot strip mill 4 with a new preliminary line and two new walking beam furnaces.
According to thyssenkrupp, the SGA 4 replaces the previous casting rolling line and, together with the new hot strip mill 4, forms an integrated plant network. The aim is to further expand production of high-quality steel grades with the highest standards of strength, dimensional accuracy, and surface quality – particularly for applications in electric mobility, lightweight construction