SMS group awarded the contract to modernize the SMS Concast casting machines at SAIL Durgapur Steel Plant

• The project covers the turnkey upgrade of the existing 2×6-strand, six-meter-radius billet casters to a seven-meter radius, with caster 1 projected to go into service in Q4 2027 and caster 2 in Q3 2028
• Caster 1 is scheduled to go into operation in the fourth quarter of 2027, and casting plant 2 in the third quarter of 2028
• The plant will remain operational while the work is carried out, with a defined five-month shutdown window for each caster
• The result will deliver 60 percent higher output and enable the production of 150×150-millimeter billets (160-millimeter rounds in future)

SAIL’s Durgapur Steel Plant (DSP) has awarded SMS group a turnkey modernization contract to upgrade its existing 2×6-strand, six-meter billet casters in Durgapur, West Bengal, India.

The modernization will upgrade the plant’s long product continuous casting capabilities to enhance annual production capacities by more than 60 percent and will add a new 150×150-millimeter (160-millimeter round in future) billet section to the bar mill (rebar and wire rod). The project is expected to be completed in two phases, with billet caster no. 1 scheduled to go onstream in Q4 2027 and billet caster no. 2 in Q3 2028.

The modernization will continue to utilize the existing civil foundations and keep capital expenditure to a minimum. These upgrades are designed to reduce operating expenditure, enhance safety, and improve both machine availability and overall productivity.

The casting machines that are now being updated were originally supplied by SMS in the early 1990s. The decision to modernize the billet casters is driven by the growing market demand and the desire for more efficient production.

SMS will deliver core casting technology (casters, turrets, tundish systems, molds, oscillation drives, as well as dummy bar and strand handling systems), process automation, and on-site technical support, working within SMS’s global delivery network to ensure integrated project execution and after-sales service.

Key equipment and technology to be supplied include a butterfly-type ladle turret, CONDRIVE mold oscillation drive, close casting facilities, CONSTIR mold stirrers, rigid type dummy bar, level 2 automation, and a range of other safety systems.

SMS will execute the project during ongoing operations and complete the commissioning of each continuous casting plant within the defined five-month shutdown period while the plant remains operational.

Bernhard Steenken, CSO, APAC & MEA at SMS group, said, “We are honored to continue our long standing partnership with SAIL. This project demonstrates how targeted modernization with the latest SMS technologies can deliver substantial capacity and efficiency gains with limited additional civil investments and compressed execution timelines.”