Siemens VAI Metals Services Ltda. will take over the maintenance of continuous slab caster No. 3 of ArcelorMittal Tubarão, a Brazilian steelmaker, for the next five years. Payment will be based on plant performance figures, such as the production volume, and the guaranteed service lives of the casting molds and segments used.
The ArcelorMittal Tubarão production complex is located in Serra in the state of Espírito Santo. It has an installed capacity of 7.5 million tons per annum, which makes it the largest steel works in Brazil. Continuous slab caster No. 3 is designed for an annual production of three million tons, and has been in operation since July 2007. The plant can cast slabs with a width of up to 2,325 mm, which is wider than on any other plant in the country.
Siemens will be responsible for maintaining the casting molds and segments, reconditioning the rolls, renewing and nickel-plating the mold plates, as well as for stocking and supplying spare parts. Siemens will also make technical improvements to the continuous casting plant to lengthen its service life and increase its reliability. For example, rugged, internally-cooled EcoStar rolls will be installed in the horizontal section of the caster.
Siemens will set up its own workshop in Serra to recondition the rolls and provide spare parts. The mold plates will be nickel-plated in the Siemens workshops in Volta Redonda and Santa Cruz, located in the neighboring state of Rio de Janeiro.
Siemens VAI Metals Services Ltda. provides maintenance services to the Brazilian iron and steel industry. The company has four locations in Santa Cruz, Volta Redonda (both in Rio de Janeiro), Serra/Espirito Santo and Ouro Branco/Minas Gerais, and is the market leader in the maintenance of continuous casting plants in Brazil.