NKMK, a Russian company specializing in rail manufacturing, awarded a contract to Techint Technologies to engineer and supply a walking beam furnace rated at 250 tph to be installed in the rail mill of Novokuznetsk, Russian Federation. The contract, signed at the end of summer, came officially into force in October. The top and bottom fired furnace will have an inside length of more than 50 m. The furnace, which will reheat high carbon rails, is scheduled to begin operation in 2005.