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SAIL Awards Contract For New Strip Mill

The mill, which is being commissioned by Steel Authority of India Ltd., is being added to the company’s Rourkela plant, providing it with 3 million metric tons of additional capacity.

Primetals will design and engineer the mill, with Mitsubishi Corp. providing project management. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is a joint venture partner in Primetals. Primetals also will supply the mill's main mechanical equipment and steelmaking technology. Larsen & Toubro is to build the mill.

Primetals said the mill, scheduled to begin operating by the end of April 2018, will be capable of producing a variety of steels, including carbon steels for the construction industry; low- and medium-carbon steels; LPG cylinder steel; API-grade steels, including X100; and high-grade steels that meet automotive industry requirements.

The maximum coil weight is 35 metric tons, Primetals said.

Primetals said the project is part of SAIL's broader plans to increase its production capacity from 14 million metric tons to 24 million metric tons annually, about a 71 percent increase. As part of that goal, the company plans to nearly double the capacity at the 60-year-old Rourkela plant, taking it to 10.8 million metric tons.  Along with the strip mill, SAIL is planning to build a new cold rolling mill at Rourkela to process some of the strip mill's output, Primetals said.

The strip mill is to consist of a reheating furnace; a single-stand roughing mill; a seven-stand finishing mill; two down coilers; auxiliary systems and equipment for the roll workshop.

Four of the seven stands in the finishing mill will be equipped with pair cross technology, which Primetals explains thusly:

"In pair cross mills the upper and lower work and back-up rolls are crossed toward each other pairwise, so that the two pairs of rolls form a narrow X when viewed from above. This permits optimum adjustment of the roll gap contour and thus a fine control of the strip profile. Depending on the angle set, the crown of the strip can be varied in a wider range than can be achieved in a conventional 4Hi mill with work roll bending only."  


Primetals Technologies Ltd. is a London-based engineering, plant-building and lifecycle services partner for the metals industry. The company offers a technology, product and service portfolio that includes integrated electrics, automation and environmental solutions. This covers every step of the iron and steel production chain, extending from the raw materials to the finished product.