Siemens Metals Technologies received a major order from Beshay Steel for the engineering and supply of a complete melt-shop which will be installed at Sadat City, Egypt. The new steel mill, Egyptian Sponge Iron & Steel Company, will include an electric arc furnace, ladle furnace and billet caster. The annual production capacity will be approximately 1.3 million tons of steel which will be rolled to bars and sections.

According to Siemens, the first heat is expected in March 2009. The order value for Siemens is a two-digit million euro figure. Beshay Steel, headquartered in Cairo, Egypt, currently operates two steel mills in Sadat city, located mid-way between Cairo and Alexandria. These mills produce approximately one million tons of bars and wire rod primarily for the local construction industry.

Siemens announces, that due to the rapidly expanding need for steel products throughout the entire region, Beshay Steel decided to build a third steel works in Sadat City adjacent to the existing facilities, which was named Egyptian Sponge Iron & Steel Company (ESISCO). Siemens Metals Technologies received the order for the engineering and supply of a 165-t electric arc furnace (EAF), a 165-t ladle furnace, a 6-strand high-speed billet caster, the dedusting system, electrics and automation in addition to auxiliary systems such as the engineering core components for the water-treatment facilities and plant layout.

"Metals Technologies (MT), a Division of the Siemens Group Industrial Solutions and Services (I&S), is one of the world's leading engineering and plant-building companies for the iron and steel industry as well as for the flat-rolling sector of the aluminum industry and for open-cast mining. MT, which was created from the integration of Voest-Alpine Industrieanlagenbau, Linz/Austria and the electrical engineering product business and automation solutions of Siemens, provides a comprehensive range of supplies and services for all related technological processes and integrated automation solutions for the entire life-cycle of metallurgical plants." Siemens reports.

"The Siemens Industrial Solutions and Services Group (I&S) is the integrator of systems and solutions for industrial and infrastructure facilities and global service provider for the plant and projects business covering planning, installation, operation and the entire life cycle. I&S uses its own products and systems and process technologies in order to enhance productivity and improve competitiveness of companies in the sectors of metallurgy, water treatment, pulp and paper, oil and gas, marine engineering, open-cast mining, airport logistics, postal automation, intelligent traffic systems and industrial services. In fiscal 2007 (to September 30) I&S

employed a total of 37,000 people worldwide and achieved total sales of EUR 8.894 billion, according to U.S. GAAP." Siemens adds.