Dec. 2006 — In an official ceremony, the Russian firm of Taganrog Metallurgical Works (Tagmet) celebrated the first cast on a five-strand continuous bloom caster supplied by SMS Demag AG, Germany.

TMK Group had placed an order with SMS Demag for the supply of two identically designed continuous casters and for the modernization of another four-strand continuous bloom caster. The modernized caster had previously been taken into operation at the Volzhsky Pipe Plant in Volgograd.

The new caster, which produces round blooms ranging in diameter from 150 to 400 mm, completely supersedes the ingot casting process previously employed at the Taganrog facility, which is located near Rostov. The upgrade results in lower production costs and higher-quality round billets. The annual capacity of the plant is around 950,000 tonnes.

The casting machine head is equipped with a parabolic mold, stirrers, and a resonance oscillator developed and patented by SMS Demag. It can also be used with square molds in the section sizes 150x150 mm to 340x340 mm. SMS Demag’s scope of supply also included torch-cutting and samplecutting machine as well as a stamping machine.

The TMK Group manufactures tube-steel grades for the oil and gas industry, some of which is intended for export.

SMS Demag AG forms part of the Metallurgical Plant and Rolling Mill Technology Business Area of the SMS group. 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 of Metallurgical Plant and Rolling Mill Technology, Tube, Long Product and Forging Technology and Plastics Technology. In the year 2005 some 9,250 employees worldwide generated a turnover of about EUR 2.33 billion.