The SMS group has received an order for a continuous caster from Saarloha Advanced Materials Pvt. Ltd. (Saarloha), a Kalyani Group company. Production is scheduled to start in July 2024, and the plant will produce India's largest round ingots at the plant in Pune, Maharashtra.
"SMS is a world leader in supplying modern and high quality equipment to the metals industry. Saarloha recently launched India's first green steel - KALYANI FeRRESTATM. Combined with SMS' fully equipped continuous caster, Saarloha will be able to enter new product segments and geographic markets. We look forward to the continued support of the SMS team," said K. Goyal, Director at Saarloha.
State-of-the-art technology
For improved quality of cast products for various special steels, the continuous caster will be equipped with state-of-the-art technology. These are Congauge, the patented bath level control system that measures and controls casting powder thickness along with liquid steel level; Condrive (mold lift drive) with servo drive for better surface quality, mold and electromagnetic stirrers to improve internal quality and porosity. The caster is equipped with mechanical soft and hard reduction to improve segregation and center porosity. A rigid cold strand system with a fully automatic cold strand infeed is provided for strand change, as well as a movable cold strand unit. The system is designed for high productivity with low maintenance, enabling precise strand alignment. For optimum process control and tracking, SMS supplies Level 2 automation.
"We thank Saarloha for their trust and look forward to a good cooperation. We are proud to supply the largest bloom caster in India," says Stephan Feldhaus, CEO of SMS Concast.
The new continuous caster will be built next to the existing continuous caster. The plant builder assumes that there will be no interference with the existing operation. The new continuous caster will also use the existing sinter pit. The SMS team, together with the Saarloha team, has developed a very compact layout that makes do with the available space.
"The good performance on the existing process equipment and extensive discussions in the pre-sales phase increased our confidence in the SMS team. We have decided to award SMS group another project for the most challenging continuous caster project within the limited space available," says Srinivas MRS, COO of Saarloha.
