Aug. 2006 — Together with Hebei Jinxi Iron & Steel Company Ltd., China, SMS Meer GmbH, Germany, has put a new heavy beam and section mill into operation. The mill has an annual capacity of one million tonnes.

The first beams of size H400 x 400 x 13/21 were successfully rolled after just 21 months, which was more than two months ahead of schedule. These sections were already within the admissible dimensional tolerance. In the future, Jinxi will also produce beams with a maximum web height of 900 mm and a maximum flange width of 400 mm. Only three types of continuously cast beam blanks are required as starting material for the whole product size range.

The mill comprises a heavy horizontal two-roll roughing stand, and a reversing tandem stand group that consists of one universal roughing stand and one universal finishing stand of CCS^® (Compact Cartridge Stand) design and a shiftable horizontal edging stand. The mill also includes a cooling bed, Compact Roller Straightener (CRS^®), hot and cold saw installations, and downline finishing and handling equipment.

During cold commissioning, fully automatic changing of the straightening rollers on the Compact Roller Straightener was achieved in less than 20 minutes. The CRS design features straightening shafts mounted in bearings on both sides, hydraulic adjustment of the straightening rollers and fully automated straightening roller changing using a manipulator crane.

SMS Meer GmbH forms part of the Tube, Long Product and Forging Technology Business Area of the SMS group. SMS GmbH is the holding for a group of companies internationally active in plant construction and mechanical engineering relating to the processing of steel, non-ferrous metals and plastics. The group is divided into the Business Areas of Metallurgical Plant and Rolling Mill Technology, Tube, Long Product and Forging Technology and Plastics Technology. In the year 2004 some 9,500 employees worldwide generated a turnover of about EUR 2.20 billion.