Primetals Technologies has recently received an order from Acciaierie Valbruna S.p.a., Italian steel producer to modernize the three-strand continuous billet caster at its Bolzano site. Under the project, the plant will be able to produce stainless steel and special alloy bars with larger cross-sections up to 180mm. Modernization work on the caster is scheduled for the 2016 summer shutdown.
Acciaierie Valbruna, based in Vicenza, Italy is a private company with over 1,500 employees, and produces over 170,000 metric tons of high-quality special steels every year. The Bolzano production site specializes in stainless steel and special alloy rods with round and hexagonal cross-sections.
Primetals Technologies had supplied the three-strand continuous billet caster to Acciaierie Valbruna’s Bolzano plant in 1992. It is designed as a bow-type caster with a machine radius of seven meters, and has an annual production capacity of 200,000 metric tons. As part of the modernization work, Primetals Technologies will increase the machine radius to nine meters, essential for producing steels with a cross-section greater than 160mm. This conversion will also create the basis for subsequent production of billets with a 200mm cross-section.
