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Danieli to Upgrade Ovako Koverhar Billet Caster
Oct. 1, 2006
Oct. 2006 — Danieli was recently awarded a contract by Ovako Koverhar, Finland, to provide a major upgrade for the Koverhar facility’s Continuous Caster No. 2. The objective of the upgrade is to increase billet size, length and weight so as to enhance the Group’s downstream hot rolling mills.
The blast furnace-based Koverhar meltshop, which has a total production capacity of 600,000 tonnes/year, presently operates two 4-strand billet casters. Continuous Caster No. 1 produces 160- x 160-mm, 7.2-meter long billets, while Continuous Caster No. 2, produces 125- x125-mm billets in up to 12-meter lengths. The shop produces a grade range that includes rim qualities, welding wire, cold heading grades, high carbon and alloy grades, spring steels, bearing grades, and tyre cord.
Danieli’s upgrade of Continuous Caster No. 2 will enable casting of 12.7-meter, 145- x 145-mm billets (approximately two tonnes), with the provision for a future additional increase of billet size to 160 mm and increased weight, up to 2.5 tonnes.
The upgrade will include the installation of new mould inserts, modification of the casting strands (bending sections, secondary cooling), and new withdrawing/straightening units and rigid dummy bar. Danieli will also provide complete reconstruction of the billet finishing area with extension of the existing cooling bed and installation of a new one, plus associated roller tables and collecting facilities. As a consequence of the Caster No. 2 upgrade, Caster No. 1 will also be slightly modified in its finishing end due to the new layout arrangement.
Danieli says the machine modifications will be carried out according to an optimized schedule of activities on order to minimize downtimes (21 days from caster stoppage to hot startup) and loss of production. The startup of the modernized Continuous Caster No. 2 is scheduled for the end of August 2007.