Released on January 26, 2009

Steel caster Sheffield Forgemasters International Ltd., Sheffield, U.K., which recently won the Cast Metals Federation Company Achievement Award, invested more than $730,000 to increase the size of its pouring ladles.

“We are continually trying to raise the bar for steel industry standards, and having this pouring capacity will mean we can continue to meet industry demands for bigger and more complex products,” said Stephen Price, Sheffield’s steel division managing director. “The sheer size of the ladles, their handling and the logistical considerations to integrate them within existing facilities have required a team effort right across the company.”

Sheffield made news in 2006 by producing Europe’s largest steel castings for German press manufacturer the SMS Group.

The four new 105-ton ladles, commissioned last year and just completed, will increase the company’s steel output capabilities by 17%. Sheffield’s previous ladles were 90 tons. The fabricated steel ladles measure up at 4.5 m in height, 3.3 m in diameter and each weigh just over 55 tons without contents. The ladles are used in steel processing for the supply of liquid steel to the metalcasting facility.

According to a company press release, Sheffield was awarded the Cast Metals Federation Company Achievement Award 2008 for its diversification into new markets and retaining its ASME certification for civil nuclear production, as well as its turnaround following floods in 2007.