The Russian pipe producer TMK has announced the commissioning of a new vacuum degasser at its subsidiary Taganrog Metallurgical Works (Tagmet).
Accordingly, the designed capacity of the vacuum degasser at Tagmet is 950,000 mt of steel per year, and will allow the plant to improve the quality of continuous casted billets and, as a consequence, the quality of seamless tubes. The total investment in the project amounts to approximately Ruble 600 million ($19.2 million).
The new vacuum degasser, the construction of which started last year, is designed by the Swiss company SITKO.
"The commissioning of the vacuum degasser precedes the last step in the reconstruction of steelmaking facilities at Tagmet, which will be concluded by the commissioning of an electric arc furnace in 2013. Upon the completion of this major investment project, the steelmaking facilities of the plant will fully meet the latest standards of the world steel industry, and TMK will have almost completed the implementation of its strategic investment program," TMK's CEO Alexander Shiryaev said.