Nucor signs long-term maintenance contract with SMS group for one of the world’s largest slab caster

Nucor Corporation (Nucor) has awarded a multi-year maintenance contract to SMS group for their new continuous slab casting machine, currently being installed by SMS group in Nucor’s new heavy-plate mill in Brandenburg, Kentucky. The primary focus of this maintenance contract will be in maintaining and repairing the continuous caster molds and containment segments. The new casting machine will be one of the largest and most advanced slab casters in the world. Maintenance by SMS assures that the casting machine will always be state-of-the-art, as technical service provided by SMS also includes the transfer of latest developments to existing production equipment.

In November 2019, SMS group received the order from Nucor covering the supply of a single-strand caster for ultra-wide and thick slabs. The new, greenfield steel mill broke ground in October 2020 with commissioning scheduled for 2022. SMS will begin supporting the customer with on-site maintenance and pre-commissioning operations early in 2022.

The caster will produce slabs of 200 to 305 millimeter (8 to 12 inch) thickness and up to 3,150 millimeter (124 inch) width. Slab lengths will vary from 2.6 to 15 meters (104 to 600 inch). Several special technological features will be incorporated into the new vertical bending caster to meet Nucor’s project objectives. These include robotic applications on the casting platform and an HD mold with fiber optics and electromagnetic stirring. In addition, a customized roller apron, a quenching unit and a cutting line will also be included. 

Nucor and its affiliates are manufacturers of steel and steel products, with operating facilities in the U.S. and Canada. Products produced include: carbon and alloy steel − in bars, beams, sheet and plate; hollow structural section tubing; electrical conduit; steel piling; steel joists and joist girders; steel deck; fabricated concrete reinforcing steel; cold finished steel; precision castings; steel fasteners; metal building systems; steel grating; and wire and wire mesh. Nucor, through The David J. Joseph Company, also brokers ferrous and nonferrous metals, pig iron and hot briquetted iron / direct reduced iron; supplies ferro-alloys; and processes ferrous and nonferrous scrap. Nucor is North America's largest recycler.

SMS group Inc., a member of the SMS group family of companies, headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania operates 18 individual workshops located in the United States that specialize in services for the North American metals industry.

SMS group is a group of companies internationally active in plant construction and mechanical engineering for the steel and nonferrous metals industry. It has some 14,000 employees who generate worldwide sales of more than EUR 2.9 billion. The sole owner of the holding company SMS GmbH is the Familie Weiss Foundation.