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At the end of World War II, steel was the strongest and most important industry

However, it has undergone continued restructuring over the last 60 years, which has reduced its leading economic role and made it less important for the economy of countries such as, for example, the United States.

Immediately after the war, global demand for steel was stronger than ever. Steel factories had been destroyed by bombings. The cities of Europe and Asia were rising again and the cities in the United States were growing fast as well. The demand of automotive companies was excellent and a scenario of complete reconstruction was expected. The American steel companies manufactured steel at a good pace, producing more than half the steel worldwide at the end of the 40’s but, soon, this percentage started to decrease and steel demand started to become global…and so it has been until now.

                                                                                   Source: UN Comtrade, Worldsteel.org

This decrease is partly due to the appearance of much more efficient processes. The current electric furnaces and continuous casting machines can produce steel while using less energy and workforce than before. Due to the rise of financial markets as well as service or technology sectors, the steel industry needs to reinvent itself and adapt to current times. This is precisely the orientation of Sidenor Aceros Especiales S.L.

The company, a European leader in the manufacture of long special steel products (SBQ-Special Bar Quality), has undertaken to carry out a project that aims at developing new products which have a high added value for its customers and add to their steel catalogue elements which differentiate them from their competitors. Aiming at meeting the demand of the local market, Sidenor Aceros Especiales S.L. has opted for producing a new round format for continuous castingin its Basauri plant. In a first phase, this new range of semi-finished products will reach diameters of 410 and 525mm, respectively, and lay the ground for a second phase that will include larger diameters.

The change intended in bloom continuous casting does not only imply the purchase of new ingot moulds, but will also include a complete review of the technical parameters involved in steel manufacturing. New secondary cooling systems, a new dynamic simulator of liquid steel solidification, end-of-line electromagnetic stirrers and new controlled cooling techniques for optimizing the surface quality levels of the semi-finished product are some of the improvements made to the manufacturing process of the new formats.

In this spirit of continuously improving its processes, Sidenor Aceros Especiales S.L. aims at becoming a benchmark supplier of the local steel market intended for the sector of energy as well as hot forging and railway transport, on the basis of continuous casting raw material.
The Company intends to provide individual solutions, while taking into account the characteristics of its customers, such as location, delivery time, flexible manufacturing, the need for stock and, as always, the highest quality guarantees.

The process industry is facing the strong need to increase the product quality and reduce operating costs as well as the environmental footprint. The complex behaviour of the plant is due to its dynamic properties, which are precisely the ones we must use, so as to adapt to the needs of our customers, thus providing efficient solutions. This investment will be carried out during the fall of 2018 and the material will be ready for supply during the first quarter of 2019.