Baosteel Zhanjiang orders additional continuous slab caster from Primetals Technologies

• Will produce 2.8 million metric tons of slabs per year for demanding applications
• Third caster supplied by Primetals Technologies for this production site
• Will supply slabs to hot strip mill
• Complements new facility in Southern China set up a few years ago

In January, Baosteel Zhanjiang, a subsidiary company of the Chinese corporation Baoshan Iron and Steel Co Ltd. (Baosteel) placed an order for a continuous slab caster with Primetals Technologies. The caster, CCM 3, will be set up in the Baosteel production site in Guangdong Province in South China, where Baosteel Zhanjiang already operates two slab casters supplied by Primetals Technologies since late 2015. CCM 3 has an annual capacity of 2.8 million metric tons of high-quality, high-strength steel grades. It will supply slabs for a 1,780 millimeter hot strip mill, complements the new Zhanjiang facility and is part of a second phase of site development with the aim to reach an annual steel plant capacity of 12.35 million metric tons per year. Start-up of the new casting machine is expected for early 2021.

The continuous slab caster CCM 3 is similar to the previously supplied casting machines CCM 1 and CCM 2, allowing for interchangeability of equipment and employing the same automation concept and configuration, as well as the same operation and maintenance procedures. It is designed as a bow type caster with straight mold, a machine radius of 9.5 meters and a metallurgical length of 37.2 meters. It produce slabs in widths from 900 to 1,650 millimeters and thicknesses of 230 or 250 millimeters. The casting speed can be varied between 1 and 1.95 meters per minute. Steel grades to be produced include the whole spectrum of carbon steel, from ultra-low to high carbon, deep-drawing, structural, peritectic and HSLA grades, micro alloyed to high alloyed steels, as well as pipe, strip and silicon grades.

The casting machine has straight SmartMold cassette-type molds, DynaFlex mold oscillators, and DynaWidth for automatic adjustment of the slab width. DynaGap Soft Reduction ensures that the slabs have a consistently high interior quality. The strand guide is equipped with Smart Segments. The combination of the Dynacs 3D cooling model with internally cooled I-Star rollers offers maximum flexibility in the secondary cooling.

Primetals Technologies, Limited headquartered in London, United Kingdom is a worldwide leading engineering, plant-building and lifecycle services partner for the metals industry. The company offers a complete technology, product and service portfolio that includes integrated electrics, automation and environmental solutions. This covers every step of the iron and steel production chain, extending from the raw materials to the finished product – in addition to the latest rolling solutions for the nonferrous metals sector. Primetals Technologies is a joint venture of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and Siemens. Mitsubishi-Hitachi Metals Machinery (MHMM) - an MHI consolidated group company with equity participation by Hitachi, Ltd. and the IHI Corporation - holds a 51% stake and Siemens a 49% stake in the joint venture. The company employs around 7,000 employees worldwide. Further information is available on the Internet at www.primetals.com.