The Ukrainian steelmaker Zaporizhstal has placed an order worth several hundred million euro with Austrian plantmaker Siemens VAI Metals Technologies for the supply of equipment for the new steel mill it is currently building.
The order includes two new hot-metal desulphurization stations, two 250-mt capacity LD oxygen steelmaking converters, two twin-station ladle furnaces, a vacuum oxygen decarburization plant, primary and secondary dedusting facilities, and two twin-strand slab casters.
The two slab casters will have a combined annual production capacity of 4.7 million mt of slabs in thicknesses of 150, 165 and 220 mm and in widths between 900 and 1,550 mm. Following the start up of the facility in late 2010, Zaporizhstal will eventually decommission its open-hearth furnaces and ingot casting machines, resulting in significant cost savings, and advantages in terms of product quality and the environment.