The Caleotto rolling mill, which together with Acciaierie di Calvisano constitutes the Feralpi Group Special Steels Business Unit, resumed operations in 2015 and, after being renewed by the SMS group with the installation of Multiloop, MEERdrive^®PLUS and the coil finishing area, can produce high-quality wire rod in terms of dimensional tolerances and surface quality. The final products have more sophisticated features and are even more interesting for the operators of the drawing line and the cold head. The rolling mill processes more than 200 steel grades and the product portfolio includes carbon and low alloy steel (CHQ – Cold Heading Quality), welding wire, medium to high carbon steels, and spring steel.

The new bar-in-coil-line will cover round bar production from 13 to 32 mm diameter with the possibility to widen the range up to 60 mm and will improve Caleotto’s production flexibility. The bar-in-coil-line dimensioned for a coil weight of 3 tons, a production rate of 100 t/h, and a maximum production speed of 20 m/s. The supply consists of two scratch-free guiding equipment, coilers, and related cooling and handling equipment.

Originally, Caleotto was a wire rod producer. With the bar-in-coil line, it is now possible to extend the product range to larger sizes and, due to the MEERdrive^®PLUS and installation of the above-mentioned processes, also down to 4.5 mm wire rod.

As general statement, MEERdrive^®PLUS is a variant of MEERdrive^® technology, a multiple-drive rolling concept for modern wire rod production that enables a 60% reduction in roll ring inventory compared to a conventional block. It facilitates reliable rolling of wire rod of all steel grades from 4.5 to 28 mm diameter at a constant speed of 120 m/s.

SMS group will supply the entire line from a single source. Commissioning by Caleotto S.p.A. is scheduled for the end of 2024.