At 5:36pm local time, the great moment had come, which the international project team had been working toward for months: The first stainless steel strip was rolled on Wednesday, 18.10.2023 on the new Steckel mill and wound into a perfect coil. This was preceded by further important milestones in hot commissioning the day before.

"We rolled transfer bar with an initial slab thickness of 220 mm in 7 passes to a minimum thickness of 25 mm in the 4-high roughing stand. In addition, a carbon steel coil was rolled in the Steckel Mill. We attained a strip thickness of 14 mm. This was not the official first coil, but it showed that we had arrived at the target levels. All this was the result of the hard work and the strong commitment of the entire project team. In the coming weeks hot commissioning activities continue and production optimization will take place by rolling thinner gauges", says Alexander Reske, Project Manager at SMS group. 

SMS group supplied all essential units belonging to the twin-stand Steckel mill. These include a primary descaler, a four-high reversing roughing mill with attached edger and a drum shear upstream of the Steckel stands. The centerpieces of the hot rolling line are the two four-high stands with one Steckel furnace each in the entry and exit section. The Steckel stands have proven CVC^® plus technology (Continuously Variable Crown) for roll shifting. In conjunction with the negative work roll bending, the profile and flatness are precisely adjusted and product tolerances are achieved which correspond to those in modern hot strip mills.

SMS group supplied the entire mechanical equipment with comprehensive support by the regional set-up in China. The scope of supply also included the complete X-Pact^® electrical and automation system for the entire production line.

Alexander Reske: "With this plant configuration, Shandong Tisco Xinhai Stainless Co. Ltd., is able to roll hot strips up to 2mm final thickness made of stainless steels including duplex steels and heat-resistant steels. The maximum annual capacity sums up to impressing 1.75 million tons of these special steel grades."