JSW Steel Ltd. has issued a Final Acceptance Certificate (FAC) to SMS group for commissioning a second 350-ton RH-TOP (Ruhrstahl Heraeus) unit at its Dolvi steelmaking shop in Maharashtra. The first unit was commissioned in 2023, and the new facility further strengthens JSW’s ability to produce high-grade steels for demanding industries such as automotive, construction, and electrical applications.
The RH process, in which liquid steel is decarburized and degassed in a vacuum vessel, improves quality by reducing hydrogen, nitrogen, and other impurities, resulting in cleaner steel with superior mechanical properties. It also provides greater production flexibility, allowing JSW Steel to manufacture a wider range of grades, including high-strength and low-alloy steels, while SMS group’s advanced technology enhances efficiency by cutting treatment times, reducing energy consumption, and lowering costs.
The Dolvi plant is equipped with a multifunction TOP-Lance that enables preheating and heating during vacuum treatment and skull burning after treatment, extending vessel life and reducing downtime. It is also the first RH unit in India to include a dedicated ferro-silicon bunker, enabling the production of non-oriented and grain-oriented electrical steel grades. In addition, a redesigned ladle rocker improves functional safety and reliability while handling ladles weighing over 500 tons.
JSW and SMS are also collaborating on major expansion projects at Dolvi, including one of India’s largest basic oxygen furnace converters, a twin ladle furnace, a blast furnace, and the advanced CSP Nexus thin slab casting and rolling line. The CSP Nexus, the third of its kind globally, is expected to be the most productive and powerful in the world when it begins operations in 2026.
