Siemens received a contract from Steel Dynamics, Inc. (SDI) to engineer and manufacture a 4-strand billet/bloom casting machine for SDI’s Structural and Rail Division in Columbia City, Ind. Start-up of the machine is scheduled during the first quarter of 2009. This project is part of SDI’s $75 million investment to increase the mill’s combined production capacity for structural steel and rail product to 2 million tons annually.
The Siemens-supplied 4-strand billet/bloom caster will feature the first application of DynaGap SoftReduction technology for bloom casting in North America. The caster will be installed initially with four strands and designed for expansion to five strands as warranted by market conditions. In March, Siemens was awarded a contract by SDI to add a fourth strand to an existing 3-strand bloom/beam-blank caster at Columbia City.