In an announcement, Primetals Technologies said Rizhao Steel Group Co. Ltd.’s No. 4 Arvedi ESP mill in October hot rolled a 0.6 mm strip, less than 1/32 of an inch. 

“Hot strip as thin as this had never before been achieved anywhere in the world. This thin strip can cover more than 80% of regular commercial cold-rolled thicknesses. This widens Rizhao's range of products, especially for cold strip substitutes, Primetals Technologies said in a statement, adding that typical hot rolling mills can roll sheet no thinner than 1.8 mm, or 1.2 mm if they use special processes.   

The company said the strip was rolled during a test in which the mill rolled strips in thicknesses of less than 0.8 mm. 

“This production sequence involved first progressively reducing the strip thickness to 0.75 mm, then to 0.7 mm and finally 0.6 mm, before continuing the sequence with increasing thicknesses. ESP mills are guaranteed to produce strip thicknesses of 0.8 mm, which are used industrially and traded on the market for direct applications,” Primetals Technologies said.