PT Gunung of Indonesia has awarded SMS Siemag of Germany, an order for the supply of a single strand slab caster for operation at its Bekasi works in the Indonesian province of West Java.

The caster with an annual capacity of 1.2 million tonnes of slabs will produce 220 mm and 250 mm thick slabs which are between 800 mm and 2,100 mm wide. The range of grades will comprise structural steels as well as pipe and heavy plate grades.

PT Gunung's new caster will produce high quality slabs for further processing in its own Steckel and heavy plate mill. In the past, slabs were bought out. Now a higher added value accompanied by a better quality will be achieved. The caster will be equipped with modules from the Intelligent Slab Casting (ISC®) package, which will ensure optimal plant productivity and slab quality. These modules will include the hydraulically powered resonance oscillator, the mold with remote-adjustable narrow faces for changing the slab width during casting, as well as the Mold Monitoring System.

The horizontal part of the strand guide system will use position controlled CYBERLINK segments. Dynamic Soft Reduction in combination with the metallurgical process module Dynamic Solidification Control to control secondary cooling will allow the production of segregation free slabs.

SMS Siemag's scope of supply includes the engineering, mechanical equipment and hydraulics plus the X-Pact® electrical and automation system which will be commissioned according to the proven Plug & Work concept.

Commissioning of the caster is scheduled for the middle of 2013. At its Bekasi works, PT Gunung operates a long product line for the production of sections and wire rods, as well as a flat product line for the production of heavy plates and pipes. All major production lines were supplied by companies of the SMS group.