On September 19, Austria-based plantmaker Siemens VAI annouced that a single-strand continuous stainless steel slab caster capable of casting the "world's thickest stainless steel slabs" was brought into operation in July for South Korean steel giant POSCO at its stainless steel plant SSCP 4 in Pohang. The caster is designed to produce 700,000 metric tons of austenitic and ferritic stainless steel slabs per annum with thicknesses of up to 300 millimeters.
With the new caster, slabs are cast with thicknesses of 250 and 300 millimeters in widths ranging from 800 to 1,650 millimeters. The casting speed can reach 1.1 meters per minute.