Schedule

3–6 March 2025 • The Hilton Garden Inn Nashville • Nashville, Tenn., USA

Monday, 3 March 2025

4 p.m.Registration
5 p.m. Reception

Tuesday, 4 March 2025

7 a.m.Registration/Breakfast
8 a.m.Introductions
Brian Smith, ANDRITZ Metals USA Inc.
8:05 a.m.Introductions, Overview and Definition of General Terms for Processing
Chad Donovan, SMS group Inc.
8:40 a.m.Process Line Design Fundamentals
John Wallace, SES Engineering 
9:30 a.m.Break
9:45 a.m.Incoming Material
Mark Zipf, Steel Dynamics Inc. –Aluminum Dynamics LLC 
10:45 a.m.Break
11 a.m.Incoming Material (cont’d)
Mark Zipf, Steel Dynamics Inc. – Aluminum Dynamics LLC
Noon Lunch
1 p.m. Control Basics for Processing Lines
Thomas Richards, TMEIC Corp. America
 An overview of control techniques applied to processing lines will be presented. Basic processing line control examples are provided for illustration.

1:45 p.m.

Coil Joining Using Resistance Welding
Matt Keller, Taylor-Winfield Technologies Inc.
This presentation will give an overview of resistance welding and the styles and techniques used to join coil using resistance welds in continuous process lines.

2:05 p.m.

Laser Welding Technologies for Processing Lines
Stanislas Mauuary, Clecim SAS
This presentation will go over the benefits of laser welding machines for processing and finishing lines in terms of process and support to the operation.

2:25 p.m.Comparative Analysis of Current and Emerging Weld Inspection Techniques for Catching and Preventing Weld Failures
Andrew Sauerwald, Tecnar Automation
Discussion of current technologies for weld testing, how they work and pros/cons. Discussion of the Weldspector technology, how it works and pros/cons. Summary of testing and operational results from the second installation site.
2:45 p.m.Break
3 p.m.Pickling: Carbon and Stainless Steel
Jay Kremm, Danieli Corp.
3:45 p.m.Advancements and Opportunities in Strip Cleaning Section Optimization
4:30 p.m.Fundamentals of Leveling
Tyler Delong, Allor Manufacturing Co. 
This session will discuss the purpose, process and applications of leveling. 
5 p.m.Adjourn

Wednesday, 5 March 2025

7 a.m.Registration/Breakfast
8 a.m. Annealing
B.J. Austin, EBNER Furnaces Inc.
This presentation covers thermal processing of strip and various associated equipment used to achieve this.
8:45 a.m.Skinpass/Temper Rolling
Mark Zipf, Steel Dynamics Inc. – Aluminum Dynamics LLC 
9:30 a.m.Break
9:45 a.m.Skinpass/Temper Rolling (cont’d)
Mark Zipf, Steel Dynamics Inc. – Aluminum Dynamics LLC
10:30 a.m. Break
10:45 a.m.Continuous Hot-Dip Galvanizing
11:45 a.m.Bilstein Cold Rolled Steel (BCRS) Plant Overview
Noon Lunch
12:30 p.m.Depart for Plant Tour of Bilstein Cold Rolled Steel (BCRS) Plant 
5–6 p.m.Reception

Thursday, 6 March 2025

7 a.m.Breakfast
7:55 a.m. Introductions and Opening Remarks
Brian Smith, ANDRITZ Metals USA Inc.
8 a.m.

Automated Surface Inspection of Sheet and Finished Product
Greg Gutmann, ISRA Vision Parsytec Inc.
This presentation will give an overview of automated surface inspection systems: what comprises a system, what it does that a human cannot do and the benefits of deploying a system. It will provide a basic introduction to camera technologies, including line and area scan, and how defects are detected and defined. Attendees will learn how an automated inspection system can be deployed in the production environment of a sheet processing and finishing line. The presentation will also discuss new automated inspection system technologies in development that can be deployed where they have previously been blocked by space or the environment.

8:45 a.m.Flatness Measurement and Control
Brian Smith, ANDRITZ Metals USA Inc.
9:30 a.m.Break
9:45 a.m.The Chemical Process of Steel Strip Cleaning and How to Enhance Performance
Andreas Wierschan, Quaker Houghton
This presentation details how the physical processes, chemical reactions and parameters of the cleaning section enable efficient steel cleaning. Methods for optimizing and maintaining the performance of the cleaner bath will also be discussed. 
10:45  a.m.Tinplating — As Relevant Now as Eve
Matt Gilfillan, United States Steel Corporation
11:30 a.m.Paint Lines Overview
Nikhil Kulkarni, Steel Dynamics Inc. – Flat Roll Group Jeffersonville Plant
This presentation provides an overview of how color coating lines produce flat-rolled prepainted steel. It will discuss the coating process and some common quality-related issues.
Noon Lunch

1 p.m.

Corrosion Preventives and Surface Treatments
Andreas Wierschan, Quaker Houghton
This presentation will go over the different classes of corrosion preventives and surface treatments and how they protect steel against corrosion and/or impart the steel with other beneficial properties. It will review how the properties and application parameters of process fluids impact performance, and methods for optimizing and maintaining product performance.

2 p.m.

Key Units for Line Integration
Jochen Muenker, GEORG North America Inc.
This presentation will discuss key units for integration or replacement in existing lines to match higher efficiency and new material demands.

3 p.m.Break
3:15 p.m.Slitting Mechanics and Slitter Tooling for Modern Metal Processing
Brian Shaw and Jim Robbins, ANDRITZ Metals USA Inc.
This presentation will cover the basic fracture mechanics of sidetrimming steel. This information will be the basis for describing how to adjust sidetrimming knife clearance to optimize the quality of the sidetrimmed edge.
4 p.m.Line Equipment, Component Life Cycle and Quality
4:30 p.m.Packaging of Coils and Sheets
Steve Hart, Dubose Strapping
5 p.m. 

Adjourn Conference