Saarstahl AG successfully commissioned a new five-strand billet caster at its steel plant in Völklingen, Germany. The caster, supplied by SMS Concast, a member of SMS group, is designed for a nominal annual production of 850,000 tons and the casting of 180-mm-square billets. According to SMS Concast, the casting machine at Saarstahl is the first caster in the world designed with mechanical soft reduction (MSR) technology for a billet cross section of 180 mm (7 inches) square. It produces billets in a wide range of steel grades, including bearing steel, spring steel, cold-heading and free-cutting steels.

The five-strand continuous casting machine, called S1 by Saarstahl, is equipped with technological features such as CONVEX molds, hydraulic mold oscillators, mold and strand electromagnetic stirrers, and an electrical and automation system prepared for full implementation of Industry 4.0.

SMS Concast previously supplied two casting machines to Saarstahl, a global producer of high-grade steels, in 2003 and 2008.