March 2007 — The Pervouralsky New Pipe Works (PNTZ) of Russia has placed an order with SMS Demag, Germany, as the leader of an international consortium, for the supply of a turnkey electric steelworks with two continuous casting plants.

The new steelworks, which will produce feedstock for ChTPZ group’s existing tube rolling mills, will attain an annual production of 1.1 million tonnes of steel. The product mix comprises carbon steels, above all for the manufacture of pipes for the oil and natural gas industry.

The new steelworks will incorporate a scrapyard, a 120-tonne electric arc furnace with modern ARCCESS^® technology, a 120-tonne ladle furnace and a VD vacuum tank degasser. The scope also includes a dust extraction plant, laboratory equipment, water treatment plant, steam-generating system, and a supply system for alloying agents.

Two continuous casting machines will cast the steel into round billets and blooms. Concast AG, Switzerland, will supply a five-strand caster designed to cast 660,000 tonnes of rounds with diameters of 150 and 220 mm. The second caster will come with three strands to produce 440,000 tonnes of rounds with diameters of 220, 460 and 550 mm.

The supply scope for the turnkey project will include XPact^® electrical and automation systems. For the power supply, the medium and low-voltage distribution will be designed according to PNTZ’s requirements and incorporated into the integrated plant concept. Within the automation supply scope, PNTZ will receive the complete operating and monitoring stations and, for the electric furnace, the process model that will optimize production for energy and cost conditions.

Commissioning is scheduled for the end of 2008.

In 2005, PNTZ was acquired by the ChTPZ group, which accounts for around 22% of the entire Russian tube and pipe production.

SMS GmbH is the holding for a group of companies 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 SMS Demag and SMS Meer under SMS metallurgy, and into the Business Area SMS Plastics Technology. In the year 2005 some 9,250 employees worldwide generated a turnover of about EUR 2.33 billion.