SMS Demag AG, Germany, has successfully commissioned the first of two LD converters in the oxygen steelmaking plant of the Czech steelmaker Trinecké Zelezárny.

The contract included supply of two converter vessels, trunnion rings, lamella suspensions and converter bearing assemblies as well as the converter gear unit with four frequency-controlled drive motors. Under the revamp project, SMS Demag also supplied a lifting winch with pneumatic emergency operating mechanism for the oxygen blowing lance.

The lamella suspension system is a proven assembly that allows the converter vessel to be positioned without restraint in the trunnion ring. Maintenance-free converter fastening by means of the lamella suspension system has proven its efficiency to the satisfaction of meltshop owners in more than 80 converter units worldwide.

Commissioning of the second converter will follow in autumn 2005. After the revamp, the useful volume of the new converters will increase from 145 to 167 cubic meters. The annual production rate at the Trinecké oxygen steelmaking plant will then reach 2.3 million tonnes.

SMS Demag AG forms part of the Metallurgical Plant and Rolling Mill Technology Business Area of the SMS group. The SMS group is internationally active in plant construction and mechanical engineering relating to the processing of steel, non-ferrous metals and plastics. The group is divided into the Business Areas of Metallurgical Plant and Rolling Mill Technology, Tube, Long Product and Forging Technology and Plastics Technology. In the year 2003 around 9500 employees worldwide generated a turnover of around EUR 2.20 billion.