Various Metals and Alloys can be made into Cored Wire which is more an vehicle for the addition of alloys to steel that an end product in itself.  Cored wire is made of a hollow steel tube that can be filled with any granular metal or alloys desired.  The most common application is using Calcium Silicon, but Tekalloy SA also supplies Carbon, Silicon, Sulfur, as well as Calcium Silicon Cored Wires to the steel industry.  The benefit of cored wire is that the material can be injected into the steel ladle very close to the bottom so that the longest possible lifetime if given to the alloy in the wire to do its work in the steel.  The steel tube that encased cored wire allows for some limited protection of the wire contents during the injection process and thus, the material inside can react as much of the metal in the ladle as possible. Cored wire increases the efficiency of ladle additions via this method and thus, are a preferred way of adding alloys to steel.