SMS group received an order from voestalpine Böhler Edelstahl to supply an electric-arc furnace (EAF), an AOD converter and secondary metallurgical facilities for the construction of a stainless steel plant in Kapfenberg, Austria. The facility, scheduled to start up in 2021, will produce 205,000 tons of high-performance steels per year for application in the aerospace and automotive industries. The 55-ton EAF will be able to melt high-purity scrap and alloys into liquid steel. The exhaust heat generated during the process will be used to dry the ultra-pure scrap in a separate plant before it is fed to the EAF.

The 60-ton vacuum converter will combine the classical AOD process for medium carbon contents with decarburization and degassing under vacuum for steel grades having low and ultra-low contents of carbon and nitrogen.

The scope of supply also includes three ladle furnaces, two vacuum degassers, one vacuum oxygen degasser (VOD) and one ladle treatment stand. The VOD system will be used for the production of special high-quality stainless steel grades of highest purity.