The first direct casting-rolling plant for long products was built in Italy. In the USA, Danieli conquered 80% of the market for long product plants. Morgårdshammar in Sweden was acquired. That company, founded in 1856, had been world leader in the supply of rolling mills for long products in special steels. Centro Met in Sweden was founded as a specialized team in steel melting and refining processes for quality steel production. The orders from major steel producers like Krupp, Cogne, Ovako, Teledyne, and Uddeholm made Danieli an international leader in specialty steels. Futhermore, an industrial-scale prototype of the Thin Slab Caster was created for research purposes. Group turnover, which in 1980 was 67 M Euro, increased to 396 M Euro; employees reached 1,870 people.