May 2006 — The VAI Fuchs GmbH, Germany, a company of the Siemens Group Industrial Solutions and Services (I&S), recently received four new electric steelmaking contracts totaling over EUR 50 million from steel producers in the U.K., Saudi Arabia, Spain and Pakistan.

Long-product steel producer Thamesteel Ltd., Sheerness, U.K., a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia's Al-Tuwairqi Group, placed an order for a new 95-tonne Ultimate Type* AC EAF. VAI Fuchs’ scope of supply also includes scrap buckets, hot-gas line, electrics and automation systems. The furnace will replace an existing shaft-type EAF.

Long-product steel producer National Iron and Steel Factory of the Al-Tuwairqi Group signed a contract to upgrade its existing VAI-Fuchs-supplied 80-tonne EAF at Dammam, Saudi Arabia. VAI Fuchs’ scope of supply includes expansion of the existing EAF to a 100-tonne AC EAF and installation of a Refining Combined Burners (RCB) system. The RCB system will allow the energy input into the EAF to be boosted for shorter tap-to-tap times. The upgraded EAF will be capable of utilizing a 100% DRI (direct-reduced iron) charge.

An order was received from the Spanish steel producer Aceralia Perfiles Zaragoza SA of the Arcelor group for the installation of a fin-type-anode system and an RCB system in the company's 140-tonne DC EAF. The advantages of VAI Fuchs’ patented fin-type anode system include a longer anode lifetime and reduced maintenance requirements.

For the newly founded Integrated Steel Mill Limited, VAI Fuchs and the Italian I&S company VAI Pomini will supply a new greenfield 1,000,000 tonnes/year steel meltshop near Karachi, Pakistan. The project includes installation of the process equipment for a 90-tonne Ultimate EAF, ladle furnace, vacuum-oxygen degassing unit, dedusting equipment and a six-strand billet caster for the production of pipe-steel grades.

* VAI Fuchs’ Ultimate EAF is a new generation of electric arc furnaces that incorporate the most advanced electric steelmaking technologies and design features to enable highest furnace performance in terms of output and steel quality, and tap-to-tap times as low as 30 minutes.

The VAI group, a division of the Siemens Group Industrial Solutions and Services (I&S), is one of the world's leading engineering and plant-building companies for the iron and steel industry as well as for the flat-product-rolling sector of the aluminum industry. VAI, derived from the company Voest-Alpine Industrieanlagenbau, Linz/Austria, provides a comprehensive range of supplies and services for all related technological processes and integrated automation solutions for the entire life-cycle of metallurgical plants.

The Siemens Industrial Solutions and Services Group (I&S) is the integrator of systems and solutions for industrial and infrastructure facilities and global service provider for the plant and projects business covering planning, installation, operation and the entire life cycle. I&S uses the electrical and technical products of other Siemens Groups in order to enhance productivity and improve competitiveness of a wide range of companies. In fiscal 2005 (to September 30) I&S employed a total of 31,700 people worldwide and achieved total sales of EUR 5.390 billion.