Products and solutions Apr 23, 2001 2:00 AM
AST starts operation of new bright annealing line and cold rolling mill
At the beginning of the year Acciai Speciali Terni S.p.A (AST), an Italian subsidiary of Krupp Thyssen Stainless with facilities in Terni and Turin, brought a new bright annealing line and a new cold rolling mill on stream, increasing its bright annealed cold strip capacity by 80,000 metric tons per year. The bright annealing line is a multi-functional unit similar to that in use since 1999 at Krupp Thyssen Nirosta GmbH`s Dillenburg facility in that it combines the annealing, skin pass and trimming processes. The resulting coils are thus ready for packing and delivery to customers.
A maximum capacity of 18 tons per hour makes this line one of the most efficient of its kind for stainless steels. It can be used for the controlled-atmosphere annealing and processing of strips in thicknesses between 0.3 and 1.5 millimeters and widths from 800 to 1,500 millimeters. Combining individual process steps provides quality and cost advantages in the high-quality thin stainless steel segment. Both production time from melt shop to finished strip and response time for short-notice orders are significantly reduced. Capital investment for both items of equipment totals some euro60 million.
The entire project was realized in just 18 months, a record time considering the high technical standards involved and given that production had to continue uninterrupted during the construction period. The bright annealing line was built by the Japanese company CHUGAI RO, with electrical and control equipment supplied by ABB.
The new Sendzimir cold rolling mill is of 20-roll design. With a maximum speed of 800 meters per minute it can reduce hot strip to 0.2 millimeters in widths of up to 1,575 millimeters. The mill was built by SMS Demag, and ABB was once again responsible for the electrics. Only 18 months were required from signing the contract to start-up, the shortest construction period SMS Demag has ever achieved for a mill of this kind.
AST mainly produces stainless flat products, plus a small amount of electrical and carbon steel. In fiscal year 1999/00 the company had around 4,100 employees and achieved sales of euro1.6 billion.
For further reference: ThyssenKrupp AG, Trade Press, Bernd Overmaat
Tel: +49-211-824-36012, Fax: +49-211-824-36035
e-mail: overmaat@tk.thyssenkrupp.com