Continuous slab caster arrangement followed by a rolling mill

In a continuous slab caster arrangement followed by a rolling mill, of the type including a run-out roller table including a strand separating means and a furnace arranged between said strand separating means and said rolling mill, said furnace having a furnace roof, a furnace interior, a feed side through a transverse wall of said furnace and a delivery side and being equipped with a first longitudinal conveying means arranged on said feed side, a second longitudinal conveying means arranged on said delivery side and including a slab storage place located parallel to said longitudinal conveying means, and a transverse conveying means for conveying a slab from said first longitudinal conveying means to said second longitudinal conveying means,

• the improvement comprising at least one fixed hearth arranged within said furnace parallel to said longitudinal conveying means and having a minimum width adapted to the width of a slab and adapted to receive a plurality of slabs stacked one above the other, and a lifting means forming said transverse conveying means and projecting through said furnace roof into said furnace interior, said lifting means being displaceable from a position above said longitudinal conveying means into a position above said fixed hearth and from a position above said fixed hearth into a position above said longitudinal conveying means, said lifting means further comprising a plurality of serially arranged grapplers disposed along the length of said furnace.