The new 4000t/y electro-slag remelting (ESR) furnace installation from Ugitech is nearing completion, and depending on its performance a second furnace may be built next year. The ESR furnace, whose start-up is envisaged for early July, will allow Ugitech to produce steels for previously inaccessible parts of the high-technology medical, aerospace and automotive markets where ultra-refined, ultra-fine stainless wire is required. The first furnace will be somewhat of a pilot unit. Its steel will need certification and a client base needs to be developed. Depending on its performance and the success of preliminary sales, the company will decide by the end of the year whether or not to install a second unit. Ugitech, which was sold by Arcelor to Schmolz + Bickenbach in mid-2006, originally said after the ownership change that it would install three ESR furnaces at the rate of one per year.
