Press release Saarstahl AG

Saarstahl is building a new continuous casting plant – Investment of 100 million euros in the steelmaking plant at the Völklingen site

07 September 2017

In a meeting which took place today, the Supervisory Board of Saarstahl AG agreed to invest an amount of 100 million euros in a new continuous casting plant. The company operates a total of four continuous casting plants in the steelmaking plant. Here, hot liquid metal is cast into so-called billets. This primary material is then further processed in the rolling mills. The new five-strand plant with the short name S1 will replace an existing plant. The construction work will start in spring 2018 and commissioning of the plant is planned for the end of 2019.

“This new continuous casting plant is a further quantum leap in the technological development of the Saarstahl group”, comments Fred Metzken, Spokesman for the Board of Directors, regarding the investment project. “As a global, premium manufacturer of wire rod and bar steel, we aspire to always be among the best and this investment is impressive proof of this.” Martin Baues, Chief Technical Officer, added: “With the new S1, we are thus achieving further improvements regarding the quality and dimensions of the products as well as the production processes. Comprehensive, computer-aided support of the processes means that a maximum level of quality assurance is ensured. As a result, we will be able to provide our customers with solutions in steel tailored to meet their individual requirements even more flexibly and faster in future.”

Saarstahl was the first manufacturer worldwide to apply the technology of mechanical soft reduction (MSR) in casting formats of 150 mm x 150 mm. The highly complex MSR technology improves the inner microstructure of the steel. With the new S1, Saarstahl AG is now further increasing this leading edge in technology. The new system will be the first system with MSR for the casting format 180 mm x 180 mm in the world. In order to allow the 6 to 13.5 meters long billets to cool evenly and without distortion, a turnover cooling bed of approximately 100 meters in length is also planned.

Furthermore, the system will be equipped with state-of-the-art automation and communication technology. Even during the conception phase, we consistently pursued an approach according to Industry 4.0. This will allow optimal integration of the new system into the highly sophisticated production processes of the steelmaking plant.

With this investment, Saarstahl is strengthening its position in the business fields of spring steel (e.g. chassis and coupling springs), cold heading wire rod (e. g. screws, threaded bolts) and free-cutting steels (e.g. for manufacturing valves and injector elements); products which are used, above all, in the automotive industry and in mechanical engineering.

About Saarstahl:

For many years now, the name Saarstahl has been a guarantee of high quality, customized solutions in steel. The Saarstahl group with its headquarters in Völklingen is specialized in the manufacture of wire rod, bar, semi-finished products and forged products in qualities to meet the highest demands. With innovative products and intelligent technologies, Saarstahl is making a contribution to finding the answers to global challenges such as mobility, energy efficiency and safety. Saarstahl products are in demand from the automotive and construction industries, energy engineering, the aviation and aerospace industry, from mechanical engineering and other steel processing industries and they are used in applications where, in some cases, they are subjected to the most extreme conditions.

Photos

The pictures show the existing continuous casting plant S3.

The pictures show the existing continuous casting plant S3.