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ThyssenKrupp Steel German Subsidiary Modernizes Medium-Wide Strip Mill
08/05/2013 - Hoesch Hohenlimburg, a specialist supplier of hot rolled strip steel based in Hagen, Germany, has completed one of the biggest modernization projects in the firm’s history: The recently upgraded medium-wide strip mill has now been successfully ramped up.
“In response to customer wishes we can now offer higher-value grades,” explained Dr. Jens Overrath, CEO of Hoesch Hohenlimburg. “It means our site is ideally placed to meet the future challenges of the market.” The ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe subsidiary invested a total of around € 30 million in the revamp of its medium-wide strip mill to improve strip quality further and increase capacity by a quarter to around 1.3 million metric tons per year by 2015 .
Medium-wide strip from Hohenlimburg is very much in demand from customers: Automotive suppliers process it among other things into seat rails, brake pistons and gear components – parts that have to withstand extreme loads. The material has to be extremely strong yet readily formable to guarantee safety and allow further weight reduction. Following the modernization Hoesch Hohenlimburg can now better meet increased demand for higher-value grades and supply high-strength hot-rolled strip in thicknesses from 1.5 to 16 millimeters and widths up to 720 millimeters.
To achieve this, the rolling mill, originally opened in 1955, was overhauled from the ground up during breaks in production over a period of five years. “We’ve modernized its brain and its muscles,” is how Frank Pozun, hot strip mill superintendent at Hoesch Hohenlimburg, describes the rebuild of the mill’s process controls and machinery. For example, the process computer installed in 2009 now calculates roll settings, speeds and cooling strategies fully automatically, from roughing train to cooling zone. From the redesigned, noise-insulated, air-conditioned control pulpit the operator has a full overview of the process via a standard user interface, while below a steel strip speeds through the mill every 20 seconds at a temperature of 1,250 degrees Celsius. Equipped with high-tech drive technology the seven mill stands are now stronger, more powerful and consume fewer resources. “It means we can control the shape and flatness of the strip even better,” explains Pozun. “We are the only medium-wide strip rolling mill in the world with this kind of technology and we can already produce the sizes customers are increasingly demanding.”
With an eye to the planned capacity expansion a new logistics system for shipments was put in place back in 2012. The completion of the upgrade is now the next step. With this comprehensive revamp of its facilities, Hoesch Hohenlimburg is fully equipped to meet the challenges of the future.
Hoesch Hohenlimburg, established in Hagen, Germany, more than 160 years ago, is a specialist supplier of hot rolled strip steel. The company (roughly 900 employees) supplies around 80% of its medium-wide strip directly or indirectly (via cold rollers) to automotive part suppliers. Almost a fifth of its production is exported, mainly within Europe but also to Asia and North and South America.
