LONG PRODUCTS BULLETIN - SMS Meer GmbH

LONG PRODUCTS BULLETIN 

Special Edition 2011 

Extracts from NewsLetters, 

editions 2008 to 2011

2 Newsletter 1/2011 

Long-product Mills 

New order from ArcelorMittal 

MEERdrive®– more flexi bility 

and less costs 

New order 

Loup Cooling Conveyor (LCC®). 

The layout, in accordance with local requirements. 

In spring 2012, ArcelorMittal Hochfeld GmbH with headquarters 

in Duisburg, Germany, will commence production of a 

complete new wire rod mill in Duisburg-Ruhrort enabling a 

wire rod production of 690,000 tpy with only one rolling 

strand. Tailored accordingly, the wire rod blocks in this highperformance 

production line are equipped with the individual 

drive technology (MEERdrive®) developed by SMS Meer.

The new wire rod mill has been designed 

to roll technically demanding grades, 

which are therefore of extremely high 

quality, to the closest tolerances. This line 

is characterized by compactness and efficiency 

and achieves an annual capacity of 

690,000 t. 

Furnace, roughing 

and intermediate train 

The walking-beam furnace for the heating 

of billets measuring 155 mm square will 

have an output rate of 120 t/h. This is followed 

by a four-stand roughing train comprising 

HL (HousingLess) stands with 

downstream free runout and an intermediate 

train consisting of 14 CL (CantiLever) 

stands, each in horizontal and vertical 

arrangement. 

Equalizing section 

in loop arrangement 

The core element of the mill begins with 

the cooling and equalizing section in loop 

arrangement. Owing to this arrangement, 

an optimal run-in temperature for each 

steel grade can be preset in front of the 

wire rod blocks. 

Wire rod blocks with innovative 

MEERdrive® technology 

The wire rod finishing block with six rolling 

units and the FRS® block with four units 

(Flexible Reduction and Sizing) – both in 

UHD (Ultra-Heavy Duty) arrangement – are 

provided with our innovative individual 

MEERdrive® technology offering numerous 

benefits. The most important ones are: 

n total flexibility in roll pass designing 

n essentially simplified rolling ring 

management 

n reduced operational costs 

High-speed loop laying head. 

MEERdrive® technology in 

the wire rod finishing block 

with six rolling units. 

Cooling lines for high-quality 

finished products 

With the water cooling lines downstream 

of the wire rod block and the FRS® block as 

well as the 104-m-long LCC® (Loop Cooling 

Conveyor) for intensive and retarded cooling, 

all the requirements for the production 

of high-quality finished products are 

fulfilled. Furthermore, the required cooling 

strategies based on the CCT® model (Controlled 

Cooling Technology) developed by 

SMS Meer can be simulated, and then adjusted 

and controlled online during operation. 

The entire coil handling equipment 

designed to be particularly protective to 

the finished material is also adapted to the 

high-quality finished products. 

» 

Newsletter 1/2011 

3

Horizontal coil compactor. 



ArcelorMittal Hochfeld orders wire rod mill 

Temperature-controlled maximum rolling speed of 120 m/s 

These facilities allow wire rod to be produced over the full size range from 5.5 to 25.0 mm 

by means of temperature-controlled rolling and at a maximum rolling speed of 120 m/s 

for 5.5-mm wire rod. This enables ArcelorMittal Hochfeld to acquire a leading position as 

supplier of wire rod for the following fields of application: automotive manufacture, mechanical 

engineering, offshore technology, plants for renewable energies and connective 

elements. 

Opportunities and benefits 

n Rolled metallurgical properties such as conventionally annealed wire rod 

n Wire rod with characteristics comparable with quenched and tempered steel, 

but with improved formability 

n Scale which can be easily removed mechanically or chemically 

n Closer tolerances of 1 /4 DIN 

n Reduced spreading width of mechanical properties 

n Coil weight up to 3 t

Commissioning 

Stahlwerk Annahütte with new cut-to-length group 

Faultless bars at any diameter 

Stahlwerk Annahütte, Germany, the oldest existing steel pant 

in Europe, is pleased about a new versatile and needs-based 

cut-to-length group from SMS Meer fully meeting the demands 

of the manufacturer of high-quality steel bars. 

Constant quality 

The new cut-to-length group has been put into operation in 

the bar mill at the Hammerau site in Southern Germany. 

Ralf Becker, Head of Hot Rolling Mill Divi- 

sion at Annahütte: ”The shear works flaw- 

lessly and we have had good experiences 

working with bars with very different diam- 

eters cut.” 

The cut-to-length group comprises a pinch 

roll unit and a combined drum-type/twocrank 

shear as well as a scrap deflector and 

is able to cut round bars with temperatures 

up to 1,000 °C. For threaded bars i.e. 

rebars with a ribbing designed as thread, 

the temperature is approx. 200 °C and the 

maximum tensile strength of the bars is 

1,800 N/mm2 . 

High requirements met 

The shear operates optionally as crank 

shear or as rotary shear with knife arms 

and cuts round bars with diameters from 

12 to 50 mm. 

The new shear unit prior to delivery. 

”The machines supplied by SMS Meer are 

highly versatile and exactly meet our high 

requirements which we are having as supplier 

of the automotive and tool manufacturing 

industry. These bar steels are suited 

for numerous applications and range from 

alloyed and non-alloyed steels for casehardened 

steel grades up to and including 

steels for springs, chains and ball bearings. 

The range also includes Q & T, cold upsetting 

and cold working steels,” Ralf Becker 

stresses. 


5

New order 

Southwest Siberian Metallurgical Plant Novokuznetsk, a company 

of the EVRAZ Group, modernizes its production facilities 

for heavy sections in the city of the same name. To achieve 

this, the plant operator has placed an order with SMS Meer, 

Germany, for the supply of a new universal mill for rails and 

other sections. To set up Russia’s most advanced rail and section 

mill, the production with the old equipment will only be 

stopped for four months. Thereafter, the steel company will 

be able to produce 100-m-long rails. 

As the largest rail producer in Russia, the customer intends to manufacture 

the rails with state-of-the-art processes which meet all 

current needs. Therefore, rail rolling operation will be modernized 

with a comprehensive program. By using our new rolling methods 

and advanced mill stand concepts, the productivity, flexibility and 

availability of the plant will be increased. In addition to that, topquality 

finished products can be produced. 



Universal mill for Novokuznetsk 

Russia’s most modern rail mill 

Two-high reversing roughing stand in CCS® design. Use of a laser profile gage. 

Altogether, 1.3 million t of sections per year. The new mill with 

a total capacity of then 1.3 million t of sections per year is scheduled 

to go into production in October 2012. 950,000 t of the annual 

production are rails, including 400,000 t with a maximum length 

of 100 m. Such long rails can be used for high-speed rail tracks or, 

with hardened rail heads, also for high axle loads on heavy goods 

trains. In addition, the new mill produces beams, channels, rounds 

and sections. 

Latest CCS® technology in the rolling mill 

Upgrading is realized in several sub-projects. For the rolling area 

of the section mill, SMS Meer supplies the rolling technology, the 

complete mechanical and electrical equipment and the automation 

system. The latest CCS® stands will be used in the universal 

mill. This stand type is characterized by high rigidity, hydraulic roll 

gap adjustment and fully automated stand changing devices. With 

the tandem reversing rolling group, it is possible to produce not 

only rails but also beams and channels in the universal rolling 

process. This cost-efficient beam production is performed by 

means of our proven XH® reversing rolling method.

The core element of a modern heavy-section mill: Tandem reversing rolling group in CCS® design. 

With inline measurement, the quality of rolled rails can be checked. 

The new universal mill produces rails for highly 

demanding applications. 

Extensive additional supplies. The key 

components of the mill also include manipulators, 

grip-type tilters upline and 

downline the tandem stand group, transport 

facilities and a hot saw. For the quality 

check, a laser profile gage (Propgauge) is 

employed for inline measurement of the 

finished profiles. The supply package from 

SMS Meer also includes the supervision of 

erection and commissioning, the training 

of customer’s personnel, and spare parts. 

Novokuznetsk on the Tom River is a large 

Russian city in the Coal Basin of Kusbass 

in the Kemerowo Oblast in Southwest 

Siberia. The city has a population of 

about 560,000 (as of 2009) and is situated 

approx. 300 km south of the regional 

capital Kemerowo. 


7



Ebros® system installed in rebar mill 

At Hmisho: New technology 

increases production by 5 percent 

Modernization 

At Hmisho Trading Group, Syria, SMS Meer has modernized the 

existing rebar rolling mill. Our engineers employed the Ebros® 

system for the endless rolling of sections, leading to a significant 

increase of the overall annual production by 5 %. 

A further benefit of the new system is: less crop-end losses and a 

reduced number of short bars, whereby the metal yield is improved 

by 1.5 %. Moreover, less labor is required since fewer cobbles 

means less transports of non-conforming products. 

The new Ebros® system pays off for Hmisho: higher productivity, improved material 

yield and constant quality. 

Technology from rail construction. SMS 

Meer has developed the Ebros® system 

under a license agreement with Steel 

Plantech, Japan. It is based on the welding 

technology employed in the construction 

of tracks for high-speed trains. The two 

companies have transferred this technology 

to steelworks construction: to weld together 

consecutive hot billets (1,100 °C) as 

they come out of the furnace. 

Benefits of endless rolling. This process 

makes ”endless rolling” of sections possible, 

whereby productivity and material 

yield are increased and a higher plant utilization 

factor is achieved. At the same 

time it ensures a constant product quality. 

In the Hmisho mill, billets of 130 mm x 130 

mm square and 12 m length are welded 

and the billet throughput is 60 t per hour. 

Market leader in Syria. The complete rebar 

rolling mill of Hmisho equipped with HSD® 

(High-Speed Delivery) system was supplied 

by SMS Meer in 2007. The annual capacity is 

350,000 t and it is the fourth plant which has 

been supplied by SMS Meer to Syria.

Celsa’s section mill: preventing downtimes 

”Technical Control System” – 

in top form thanks to service contract 

Section steel producer Celsa, Barcelona, 

Spain, has signed a service agreement 

with SMS Meer ensuring reliable functionality 

of the ”Technical Control System” 

(in short TCS) and offering optimal 

support during rolling. The TCS provides 

an exact roll position and, consequently, 

allows top product quality. 

In future, the section mill of Celsa will be taken care of properly by SMS Meer. 

The aim: Error prevention. The modules 

of the service contract with SMS Meer have 

been customized in cooperation with Celsa. 

The main goal is to make sure that problems 

on the plant are prevented in the first 

place. Should a fault occur despite all the efforts 

to prevent this, it will be eliminated 

quickly and expertly in a very short time. 

Fast fault diagnosis. Thanks to advanced 

technology – per email, phone and internet 

system (VPN) – you can look at the 

plant directly. A fault diagnostics can thus 

be generated rapidly by our experts. Regular 

checks, maintenance measures and 

local staff training are rounding off the 

range of services. 

Annual system check. The second module 

includes the annual system check. For 

this purpose, a technician from SMS Meer 

is on site for at least three days, installs new 

computer systems and then informs customer’s 

staff on their handling. Moerover, 

he also provides training. 

Other customers. Besides Celsa, other 

customers rely on our service for TCS 

equipment, including among others Gerdau 

Ameristeel and Steel Dynamics in the 

U.S.A. as well as Changzhi in China. 

The TCS system provides an exact roll position. 


New contract 

9

Joining forces: Experts from SMS and Tung Ho Steel. 


Minimills 

Every year 72,000 t less carbon dioxide (CO 2) 

Tung Ho Steel, Taiwan: 

Minimill sets new standards 

for rebars 

In mid-2010, Tung Ho Steel Enterprise Corpora- 

tion, Taiwan, has successfully taken a minimill for 

rebars into operation which has been built by 

SMS Meer and SMS Concast. What is so special is 

that the new minimill in Taoyuan near Taipei can 

be operated without a conventional reheating 

furnace. Instead, an inductive heating plant from 

SMS Elotherm has been integrated. 

Consequently, Tung Ho saves energy and the environment is less 

polluted, since 72,000 t less carbon dioxide (CO2) are produced. 

And the operational costs are also substantially lower. 

The works bays. 

Minimal energy consumption. For the generation of energy, Taiwan 

depends almost 100 percent on oil and gas imported from abroad. 

The country generates high emissions of greenhouse gases, and as a 

result of this, the government is making efforts to reduce energy consumption 

and the emission rate. In response to these efforts, we 

have materialized an innovative approach for the new minimill of 

Tung Ho in order to reach a minimum energy consumption. 

Reheating furnace dispensed with. The new plant optimally implements 

the basic minimill concept: short ways and a direct linkage 

of the rolling mill to the steel plant. The hot billets running out 

of the continuous caster (with a capacity of 40 to 45 t/h per strand) 

are immediately brought to a uniform temperature in the inductive 

heating plant. Then, the billets run directly into the rebar 

rolling mill. In this way, a gas- or oil-fired reheating furnace upstream 

of the rolling mill could be dispensed with. Under certain 

conditions, even an inductive heating is not required since the billets 

are shaped in such a way that they hardly lose any heat during 

the subsequent production process.

Good for the environment and for returns. Eyery year the steel 

plant with electric arc furnace, ladle furnace and a five-strand billet 

caster from SMS Concast is producing 1.2 million t of billets and 

the rebar mill from SMS Meer has a capacity of 800,000 tpy. Due 

to the innovative energy concept, Tung Ho Steel every year reduces 

the emission rate of carbon dioxide (CO2) by 72,000 t, of sulfur 

dioxide (SO2) by 410 t and of nitrogen (Nox) by 225 t. In addition 

to this, the investment costs for the inductive heating plant are approx. 

25 to 30 % less than with conventional furnace concepts. At 

the same time, the operational costs for each t of rebars are reduced 

by approx. 25.00 US dollars. 

Excellent references. Dr. Joachim Schönbeck, President and CEO 

of SMS Meer: ”This mill shows yet again that our customers benefit 

from integrated all-inclusive solutions of the SMS group. Two plant 

manufacturers which are leaders in their respective fields, SMS 

Concast and SMS Meer, join together their innovative concepts 

within a seamless process chain. In doing so, they spare our business 

partners from time-consuming and costly interface problems – and 

thus allow the mill to be put into operation early.” 

Reliable and smooth casting. 

The innovative energy concept with inductive heating reduces the carbon dioxide rate every year by 72,000 t. 

In the minimill segment, SMS is one of the worldwide 

leading plant manufacturers with refer- 

» 

ences in the whole world. Currently, we are building 

large plants in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. 


11

120-t EAF with Conso-Oxygen technology for reduced energy consumption. 

The EAF has a tap-to-tap time of 43 minutes. 


Minimills 

Layout of the minimill at Tung Ho Steel 

Steel plant with 120-t EAF 

The electric steelworks built by SMS Concast provides a 120-t electric 

arc furnace with dedusting system. The power consumption 

of the furnace is 120 MVA. To supply additional energy, we apply 

our Conso oxygen technology (oxygen/gas burner) which reduces 

power consumption and increases productivity at the same time. 

The tap-to-tap time is 43 min. 

Downstream of this is a ladle furnace which is used for exact temperature 

setting providing liquid steel for secondary-metallurgical 

miroalloying. 

Furnace tapping. The continuous casting plant has five strands and is expandable by a sixth strand.

Five-strand billet caster 

The casting machine has five strands with a 

casting radius of 10.25 m. An expansion to six 

strands has been considered in the layout. The 

range of dimensions comprises square billets 

in the formats of 130, 150, 160 and 200 mm. The 

special equipment includes among others the 

Invex® mold tube technology for high-speed 

casting and the hydraulic mold oscillation systems. 

The casting machine is able cast billets in 

various sizes in a parallel mode. 

Rebar mill for bars with diameters 

from 10 to 43 mm 

In front of the rebar mill the billets are heated to 

an uniform temperature by the inductive heating 

plant, if necessary. The downstream rolling 

mill includes 14 mill stands in horizontal/vertical 

and tiltable configuration. A compact design 

of the ”HL” stands ensures that close tolerances 

of the finished products are maintained. Bars 

with small diameters are finish-rolled in two finish-rolling 

blocks with six rolling units in V 

arrangement. 

Straight bars are transported with up to 40 m/s 

to the cooling bed by the H.S.D.® (High-Speed 

Delivery) system. Then they pass through the 

finishing facilities. 

The roughing train of the rolling mill. 

Induction heating section. 

The minimill is designed for 800,000 tpy of rebars. 


13


Steelworks 

for Long Products 

600,000 tpy of blooms/beam blanks and heavy sections 

SMS Concast and SMS Meer 

supply steel complex to Bahrain 

From left: Saad Rashid Al-Mohannadi, General Manager of Qatar Steel; Khalid 

Al Qadeeri, Chairman & Managing Director of Sulb; Hiroyuki Inoue, President 

of Yamato Kogyo; Dr. Joachim Schönbeck, President & CEO of SMS Meer; Kiseok 

Park, Chairman & CEO of Samsung Engineering; Jacques-Frédéric Zuber, President 

& CEO of SMS Concast. 

United Steel Company (Sulb) in the Kingdom 

of Bahrain awarded SMS Concast and SMS 

Meer the order to design and supply on a 

turnkey basis a steelworks for blooms/beam 

blanks and heavy sections. The minimill will 

be part of the new, fully integrated steel complex 

in Al Hidd, a town on a sand spit on the 

south-eastern extremety of Muharraq Island. 

The contract is for the construction and supply of one 120-t 

electric arc furnace, one ladle furnace, one bloom/beam 

blank casting plant and one heavy-section rolling mill. The 

order will be realized in cooperation with Samsung Engineering 

as EPC partner (Engineering, Procurement & Construction). 

Commissioning of the overall plant is planned for the 

second half of 2012. 

With the awarding of the order for the technological core equipment 

including the complete automation system to SMS Meer and 

SMS Concast, United Steel selected best performing production 

technology for long products. 

SMS Concast will supply a state-of-the-art steelworks with an annual 

capacity of 850,000 t. It will comprise one 120-t Ultra-High- 

Power EAF for continuous DRI charging, a ladle furnace and a 

three-strand continuous casting machine for various near-to-netshape 

bloom and beam blank sections. The delivery also includes 

the material handling system for ferroalloys addition and a powerful 

dedusting system.

The here realized beam blank casting technology was launched 

onto the market by SMS Concast, a pioneer in continuous casting 

technology. 

The heavy-section rolling mill to be supplied by SMS Meer will 

feature the latest state of the art in rolling mill technology. The 

mill stands will come with hydraulic roll adjustment systems, 

while the roller straightener will be equipped with hydraulic roller 

adjustment. Designed for an initial capacity of 600,000 tpy, the 

plant will boast high flexibility in terms of product mix and format 

changes. For example, a program change will be realizable within 

20 minutes. 

Planning and civil engineering, erection and ancillary equipment 

will be provided and coordinated by Samsung Engineering. For 

many years, Samsung Engineering has been active in the region 

as a project partner. 

Together with Foulath’s existing pellet plant, which will be further 

expanded for the new steelworks project, and the DRI plant 

awarded to Kobe/Midrex, a remarkable fully integrated steel complex 

will be established at Al Hidd, covering the complete production 

chain from pelletizing to the finish-rolled product. This 

excellent setup allows highly efficient production at low operating 

costs. 

Furthermore, this investment will create 1,000 new jobs in the 

Kingdom of Bahrain. The total order volume for the project 

amounts to some EUR 1.2 billion. With the new steel facility, United 

Steel plans to cover about 15 % of the current imports of steel 

beams and sections into the countries of the Middle East. 

Conclusion of the contract by Khalid Al Qadeeri, Chairman & Managing 

Director of Sulb, and Dr. Joachim Schönbeck, President & CEO of SMS Meer, 

in the presence of Hiroyuki Inuoe, President of Yamato Kogyo. 

On the occasion of the signing ceremony, Dr. Joachim Schönbeck, 

President & CEO of SMS Meer, stated: 

“We feel honored to have been selected by United Steel 

and its shareholders Foulath and Yamato Kogyo for this 

important project. Together with our sister company SMS 

Concast, we will deliver a true benchmark plant, which will 

set new standards. With Foulath’s existing pelletizing 

plant, this will be one of the most efficient production sites 

in the GCC region.” 

Jacques F. Zuber, President & CEO of SMS Concast, added: 

“As pioneer and market leader in the field of continuous 

casting technology, SMS Concast is pleased to have the 

opportunity to provide its latest melting and casting technology 

to this outstanding project. We view the award of 

the contract as recognition of our competence in the key 

markets for our products.” 

Khalid Al Qadeeri and Jacques Zuber (President & CEO of Concast AG). 


15


Minimills 

SMS Meer and SMS Concast 

Siam Yamato, Thailand: 

Minimill for 

maximum benefits 

Highly praised by the customer 

Piya Chairat, Plant Manager of Siam Yamato, is full of praise: 

“SMS enjoys worldwide a distinguished reputation and we benefit 

from this every day especially when our customers visit us. They 

see the company signs from SMS on the plant and are positive 

right away: German and Swiss technologies sell extremely well 

also in Thailand.“ 

The mill of Siam Yamato, south of Bangkok.

Piya Chairat, Plant Manager of Siam 

Yamato and his colleagues, remain convinced 

of the decision in favor of SMS: 

”With the minimill for medium sections 

from SMS at the Map Tha Put location 

we have bought the right equipment,” 

said the manager of the Thai/Japanese 

steel enterprise. ”My customers believe 

in technology from SMS and we had to 

invest significantly less money than for 

a conventional plant. In this way, we are 

able to produce at lower cost and even 

the ecological values are excellent.” 

Since several months, this perfectly producing 

mill has been in operation. 

40-year-old idea more 

relevant than ever 

”Minimill” – this 40-year-old idea is today 

more relevant than ever. Germany’s Willy 

Korff had designed the mill in the sixties. 

In 1968, he inaugurated his steel plant in 

Kehl, Baden, Germany, the first of its kind 

with electric arc furnaces and an associated 

rolling mill for the production of rebars 

from SMS, at that time worldwide an 

absolute novelty. 

The idea was revolutionary. From then on, 

steel could no longer be only produced 

where the coal was located but at any location. 

The Kehl port area with easy access 

to waterway, rail and highway was ideal to 

deliver scrap as starting material. 

The finishing train. 

Just one year later, nearly 149,000 t of steel 

were produced in Kehl. Meanwhile, annual 

production is more than 2.2 million t which 

corresponds to 23,500 charges per year. In 

the early years, the smelting staff required 

a few hours for a charge but today the time 

required for loading scrap up to liquid 

steel takes just 38 minutes. 

Good for ecology 

and “green“ steel 

In the age of ecology and “green“ steel, 

Korff’s idea which was realized by applying 

SMS technology has considerably regained 

attraction. Steel production and 

further processing in an integrated factory 

saves energy. At the same time, the customers 

benefit from highly flexible SMS 

plants which can be revamped within very 

short periods of time and thus the demand 

is correspondingly high. 

Successful minimill team 

SMS has reacted to the market demands 

with a comprehensive team. Under the direction 

of Paolo Cancian from SMS Meer, 

Italy, colleagues from all over the world 

closely cooperate with each other, whether 

they are from the Business Area SMS Meer 

or from SMS Concast. 

The success justifies the concept: large and 

significant reference plants such as those 

at Siam Yamato (medium sections), Tung 

Ho in Thailand (bar mill) or a combined 

plant from SSM in Košice are already running 

at full speed just like a mill in the USA. 

With a planned works for heavy beams in 

Sulb, Bahrain, another milestone will be 

added soon and also in Saudi Arabia a mill 

is under construction. 


» 

17


Cost-efficient solution 

for growth regions 

Especially when a project needs to be completed 

”on a greenfield site” the customers 

often choose a cost-efficient minimill solution. 

This type of plant pays off particularly 

for steel producers in the growth regions 

of Asia, the Middle East or South America, 

but also in the established markets of Europe 

and the USA the minimills are becoming 

more and more important. 

Next to the sector of tourism, the heavy industry 

in Thailand has developed in recent 

years to the most important source of income 

for the Thai population. Economies 

such as the USA, Australia and Japan use the 

favorable conditions in the country of orchids 

to invest in new production facilities. 

Minimills 

Advanced SMS technology ensures smooth production. Eric Hetzel (left), Site Manager, 

assists in the control room. 

Two steel plants 

already realized 

Such is the case also for the Japanese Siam Yamato Group, a joint 

venture between the Thai family-owned Siam Group and the 

Japanese Yamato Group. Two large steel plants have been built in 

the Map Tha Put Industrial Zone, 100 km south of Bangkok. Plant 

No. 2 has been planned and constructed together with SMS as 

general contractor. 400,000 t per year of medium sections will be 

produced. The minimill technology from SMS ensures favorable 

production costs, high productivity and necessary flexibility for 

the production of different sizes and products. 

Most modern plant 

of its kind in South East Asia 

In close cooperation between Swiss and German experts from SMS 

the most modern plant of its kind was built in South East Asia. SMS 

Concast realized a steel plant with state-of-the-art technology. The 

associated section mill from SMS Meer features different levels and 

has a capacity of 400,000 t. Sections with edge lengths between 

100 x 50 and 350 mm x 175 mm are predominantly produced.

The minimill for medium sections 

of Siam Yamato 

Steel plant. The steel plant from SMS Concast has been designed 

for a capacity of 700,000 tpy and it comprises an 80-t electric arc 

furnace, a ladle furnace as well as a combined continuous caster. 

Various auxiliary plants such as scrap transport, dedusting system 

and material feed are also included in the supply package. 

Continuous casting plant. The continuous bloom caster features 

five casting strands and allows for a production of a wide format 

range from 150 x 150 mm up to 230 x 450 mm. Simultaneous casting 

of various formats is possible. 

Medium section mill. The semi-continuous medium section mill 

from SMS Meer produces beams from 100 x 50 up to 350 x 175 as 

well as channels and angles. The annual capacity of finished products 

is approx. 400,000 t. A future expansion of the mill to rounds 

and flats and an increase in production at the same time is possible 

in a further expansion stage. The mill comprises a walking beam 

furnace with a capacity of 130 t/h, a two-high reversing stand as 

well as a continuous finishing train with nine stands, of which six 

stands are equipped as universal/two-high stands. 

The mill stands. The mill stands are modular compact stands of 

the CS type. The stands are interchangeable and can be used alternatively 

as horizontal/vertical or universal stand. A quick stand 

change can be executed without the need for a crane. 

The finishing line. It consists of a rake-type cooling bed, a nineroller 

straightening machine with adjustable pitch, a sawing line 

with three cold saws, five stacking machines, binding and loading 

devices. 

Most modern mill in Asia. The mini steel mill is the most modern 

plant in Asia for the production of medium sections and it takes 

the latest technologies into account. 

The breakdown stand. 

The cooling bed. 

The binding machine. 


19

New order 

Annual capacity of 450,000 t 

Daehan Steel, South Korea: 

Rebar mill with 

VCC® ordered 

The South Korean steel producer Daehan Steel has commissioned 

SMS Meer to supply a rebar mill with a VCC® installation 

(Vertical Compact Coiler) for compact coils. The mill with 

an annual capacity of 450,000 t will be the first rolling mill 

worldwide which concentrates exclusively on the production 

of compact coils. The plant is scheduled to go on stream in 

April 2011. 

SMS Meer supplies the key equipment for the rebar mill which includes 

six housingless mill stands each in H/V arrangement for the 

roughing and intermediate trains, a finishing block with eight 

rolling units in V arrangement, facilities for the heat treatment, the 

VCC® installation as well as the electrics and the automation. In addition 

to this, SMS Meer is responsible for the coordination of erection 

and commissioning. 

The production line processes square billets with an edge length 

of 130 mm. It is planned to expand the mill for the processing of 

billets 150 mm x 150 mm in size. The rebar dimensions comply 

with D10 to D16 (according to Korean standard) and the production 

of the corresponding round bars is also possible. 

For hot coiling, the VCC® installation is presently regarded as stateof-the-art 

procedure. The VCC® technology is also ideally suited for 

older mills with wire rod blocks and loop laying heads since it is 

possible to produce compact and stable coils. 

The Vertical Compact Coiler (VCC®) from SMS Meer is able to coil 

the bars directly in vertical position. Owing to this technology, the 

customers can do without turning manipulators in the future. The 

throughput time is considerably reduced by the VCC® system since 

the coils are already formed in their natural final position. 



Commissioning 

300,000 tpy of round bars 

ICSR in Hassia, Syria: 

Bar mill put 

into operation 

The International Company for Steel Rolling (ICSR) in Hassia, 

Syria, has successfully taken the bar mill supplied by SMS 

Meer into operation. On this plant, surface heat-treated reinforcing 

bars are produced with speeds of up to 36 m/s in the 

exit section. The mill is designed for reinforcing steel with low 

and medium carbon content. The annual capacity is 300,000 t 

of round bars with diameters from 8 to 40 mm. 

Structure of rolling line. The pusher-type furnace for the heating 

of square billets supplies a one-strand continuous rolling line comprising 

roughing, intermediate and finishing trains. The roughing 

train consists of six stands and the intermediate train operates with 

multiple-pass mill stands in HL design and H/V arrangement. The 

finishing block in V arrangement is equipped with eight rolling 

units and two more units can be retrofitted. In this way, the customer 

has the option to reconstruct the plant into a combined bar 

and wire rod mill at a later date. 

Cooling bed with HSD® system. On the entry side of the cooling 

bed a high-speed delivery system HSD® (High-Speed Delivery) has 

been installed. The system is equipped with a double rotating 

launder transporting the straight bars to the cooling bed with 

speeds of up to 36 m/s. 

The scope of supply. SMS Meer supplied the complete rolling mill 

including electrics and automation. The supply package included 

also the supervision of erection and commissioning. In addition 

to this, the scope of supply comprised a fully automated bundling 

plant and a tying station.

Service 

SMS Meer (UK) Ltd.: 

Service & advice for wire-rod producers 

Managing Director 

Stephen Lidgate, 

SMS Meer (UK) Ltd. 

SMS Meer has further developed its 

standard and high-speed roller guides 

for the wire rod and bar mills area. Complete 

systems are now available to our 

customers for the first time which are 

characterized by robustness and reliability. 

In this way, the roller guides have 

a longer useful life resulting in reduced 

costs for the plant users. 

OEM know-how, short reaction times 

and communication in the local language 

– all this is part of the services offered 

by our service company SMS Meer 

(UK) Ltd. which was founded in England 

at the beginning of 2009. These services 

are not only gladly accepted by the 

users of wire rod mills in Great Britain 

but also by the plant operators in Central 

Europe. Company headquarters are 

in Chesterfield near Sheffield. With 10 

employees in the meantime, this location 

has grown steadily and it offers extensive 

technical services and advice for 

all plant users in Europe. 

E-mail: serviceinfo@sms-meer.co.uk 

Robust and reliable at lower costs 

New roller guides 

the replacement of wearing parts is considerably 

easier. 

Owing to a central adjustment, all guides 

can be aligned in a quick and simple way. 

With high-speed guides, sections up to a 

diameter of 40 mm can be safely guided. 

The novel systems have been particularly 

developed for the high-speed finishing 

Core competencies of the service specialists are targeted and innovative 

modernization measures to increase the plant availability. 

Owing to the process know-how and with due regard to technical 

innovations, the existing equipment is updated by the service 

experts in an investment-friendly manner. A sustainable safeguarding 

of customer’s competitiveness is thus always in the 

focus. Stephen Lidgate, Managing Director of SMS Meer (UK) Ltd., 

assures: “The wishes and the satisfaction of our customers are particularly 

important to us. For this reason, we always offer marketdriven 

and individually tailored solutions.” In addition to the execution 

and further development of service features, the latest 

standard and high-speed guides are also developed and planned 

at the Chesterfield location. Thanks to an extensive know-how and 

many years of experience, SMS Meer (UK) Ltd. has established itself 

as a principal contact for all services in the wire rod mill sector. 

Plant users worldwide benefit from this knowledge and seek advice 

and support from the Chesterfield location. 

Mono-Block roller guide. 

By the use of identical parts with various blocks from SMS Meer. However, they can 

dimensions significantly fewer spare parts also be used in older plants and are com- 

are required by the customers. Moreover, patible with the wire rod blocks of other 

the roller guides consist of only a few sin- manufacturers, provided that correspond - 

gle components so that the assembly or ing guide holders are available. 

Standard two-roller guide. 


21

New order 


Service 

High-speed guides and innovative guide holders 

South Steel, Saudi Arabia: 

New guide series ordered 

The South Steel Company, an enterprise 

based in Jizan Economic City, Saudi Arabia, 

has commissioned SMS Meer to 

equip the bar mill of its new minimill 

with our newly developed guide series. 

The order comprises the design, construction 

and supply of standard and 

high-speed guides. 

Scope of supply 

In detail, we supply three complete sets of 

guides as well as the equipment for the assembly 

and the adjustment of the guides. 

The roughing and the intermediate trains are 

provided with our newly developed entry 

and exit guides as well as with Mono-Block 

and two-roller guides. The finishing block is 

equipped with the latest series of high-speed 

guides and with our innovative guide holders. 

Steelworks of SMS Concast 

Bar mill of SMS Meer 

High-speed guide. 

The order is part of a minimill project which is 

currently handled by SMS Meer and SMS Concast. 

The new minimill is yet another example 

for a successful cooperation between the individual 

companies within the SMS group. SMS 

Concast supplies the steel plant and the continuous 

caster, SMS Meer is building the 22stand 

bar mill with an annual capacity of nearly 

500,000 t. The mill processes square billets with 

an edge length of 150 mm to round bars with 

diameters between 8 and 32 mm. The rolling 

mill is scheduled to be put into operation soon.

Commissioning 

SMS Meer has modernized a finishing 

mill for Nucor Steel Darlington, South 

Carolina, USA, in just five weeks. The 

new continuous finishing mill allows 

much shorter stand changing times and 

also much reduced setup and adjustment 

times. This consequent modernization 

has yielded a real competitive 

edge. 

Bar mill modernized in record time 

Nucor Steel Darlington, USA: 

New finishing mill with benefits 

The new intermediate/finishing mill consists 

of four horizontal, one vertical and 

three convertible type HL stands. The convertible 

stands are of dual-drive arrangement, 

with motors and gears keeping their 

position regardless of the stand configuration 

(either H or V), with benefits for maintenance 

and plant usability, easier access 

to these facilities while minimizing depth 

and amount of required foundation work. 

A flying shear, inter-stand equipment, 

quick change devices and tools, hydraulic 

and lubrication units as well as twelve additionally 

provided exchangeable cassettes 

are also part of the new setup. 

This modernization in such a short time 

was only possible by close cooperation between 

SMS Meer and Nucor Steel. The 

modular pre-assembly of equipment and 

extensive pretests by SMS Meer’s production 

team reduced the number of opera- 

Bildunterschrift. 

The finishing line. 

tions on site, thereby allowing this record 

revamping time to be accomplished. 

Nucor Steel Darlington, a company of the 

Nucor Bar Mill Group, is a well-known producer 

of steel bars in the USA. 


23


Minimills 

Kolkata, India: April 28 thru 29, 2010 

”Minimill“ – The highlight at the 

Wire-Rod Symposium in Kolkata 

The symposium was well frequented. 

Detailed information package for the participants. 

In-depth discussions in the breaks. 

Ulrich Svejkovsky, Vice-President 

Long-Product Area, held the opening speech. 

Mills for the production of wire rod hold 

huge growth potential for SMS Meer, especially 

in countries with constantly 

growing economies. To take advantage 

of this potential, we launched our own 

series of symposiums on this issue earlier 

this year. After the successful launch 

in Mönchengladbach, the next event 

took place in Kolkata, India, from April 

28 to 29. 

Huge interest. 250 representatives from 

68 Indian firms attended the lectures presented 

at the Hyatt Conference Center in 

Kolkata during the two-day symposium. 

The presentations focused on new products 

and technical innovations contributing 

to higher productivity in wire-rod 

rolling. 

Minimill for small production volumes. 

In his introductory talk, Bimal Sarkar, Managing 

Director and CEO of SMS Meer India, 

presented a detailed overview of the Indian 

steel market. The technical papers 

that followed focused on the rolling of 

wire rod, bars and sections. A topic lively 

discussed was the ”Minimill“ concept for 

small production volumes which combines 

an EAF steelworks from SMS Concast 

with a rolling mill from SMS Meer. ”Owing 

to the relatively low investment costs, 

plant owners in countries such as India are 

seeing great future potential for this concept,” 

is how Bimal Sarkar explains the importance 

of this concept. 

Further topics. Further papers dealt with 

the development of a high-speed looper, 

coil compactors for wire rod, and the new 

wire-roll mill in Duisburg-Hamborn built 

and supplied by SMS Meer. 

In addition, SMS Meer’s subsidiary SMS 

Schumag presented its machines for the 

processing of cold-finished steel and copper. 

The state of the art in inductive heating 

was presented by SMS Elotherm. And the 

services and products of SMS Meer’s “Service 

Division” also aroused lively interest. 

The SMS Meer staff used the breaks between 

the papers for in-depth discussions 

with our visitors. According to Sarkar “it is 

obvious that our symposium comes at the 

right time and tackles the right issues“. 

Another wire-rod symposium took place 

in São Paulo, Brazil, where SMS Meer recently 

founded a new subsidiary.

Commissioning 


About 1 million t of rebars per year 

Hamriyah Steel, UAE: 

Bar mill taken into service 

Furnace area. 

Intermediate train. 

Finishing area. 

In January 2010, the new bar mill of Hamriyah Steel, United 

Arab Emirates, has been successfully started up. The mill in 

the Emirate of Sharjah is a joint venture between the Russian 

Metalloinvest Group and Sheik Sultan Bin Khalifa Bin Zayed 

Al Nahyan. 

The order for the supply of a turnkey plant was placed with SMS 

Meer in June 2007. Construction work began in March 2008 and in 

November 2009 about 95 % of the construction measures were 

completed. In summer 2009, long-term contracts for water, power 

and gas supply of the mill were concluded. This was a crucial prerequisite 

for the success of the project since large projects often fail 

in the Gulf region when such guarantees have not been provided. 

Gradual increase in production 

Prior to commissioning and during initial tests, the bar mill had already 

produced 4,000 t of salable bars. Sale takes place through 

Ural Steel. The mill of Hamriyah Steel has a capacity of 1 million t of 

bars per year. For 2010 a production rate of 660,000 t is planned 

and production shall be increased gradually: from 10,000 t in January 

to 80,000 t in December. According to estimates by Hamriyah 

Steel, the annual demand for rebars in the United Arab Emirates is 

approx. 4 to 5 million t. Therefore, Hamriyah could cover 20 % of 

the market. In addition to this, there are plans for exporting bar 

products into the neighboring Gulf States, to Iran and Egypt. 

Advanced cooling and 

thermo-strengthening technology 

Bars manufactured at a diameter range from 10 to 40 mm meet the 

national and international standards BS4449, ASTM A615 and DIN 

488. Owing to an advanced cooling and thermo-strengthening 

technology, bars can be produced with low carbon and hardened 

surfaces. The bars feature yield strengths up to 550 MPa and 

achieve good values in terms of elongation and weldability. 


25

Commissioning 


Minimills for Long Products 

Combi-caster casts several formats at the same time 

Siam Yamato, Thailand: Minimill for 

medium steel sections in operation 

Commissioning of five-strand combi-caster for 

seven different billet/bloom formats and beam blanks. 

In October/November 2009, Siam Yamato Steel Company (SYS) started production 

of medium steel sections at its new minimill in Rayong, Thailand. First, the mediumsection 

rolling mill supplied by SMS Meer was commissioned, followed by the meltshop 

and the five-strand combi-caster supplied by SMS Concast. The first heat was 

cast on all five strands with a common casting size of 200 mm x 230 mm. After that 

also blooms of 230 mm x 450 mm casting size were successfully produced on the 

new combi-caster. 

Steelworks for 700,000 tpy. The steelworks 

and rolling mill have been designed 

in such a way that the billets and blooms 

produced in the steelworks can be directly 

hot-charged into the rolling mill. The new 

steelworks has a production capacity of 

700,000 tpy. It features an 80-t electric arc 

furnace, a ladle furnace and a combination 

caster. 

Low energy consuming EAF. The electric 

arc furnace is equipped with the latest 

generation of Conso oxygen technology. 

This technology reduces electrical energy 

consumption while enhancing the productivity 

of the furnace. The dedusting 

system for the meltshop conforms with 

the high applicable clean-air standards. 

Seven billet/bloom formats plus beam 

blanks. The combi-caster is a new development 

by SMS Concast. This is the first casting 

machine enabling different billet and 

bloom formats to be cast at the same time. 

A total of seven different billet/bloom formats 

can be cast, ranging from 130 mm x 

130 mm to 230 mm x 450 mm. If required, 

the plant can even be converted to beam 

blank production. 

Medium section mill for 400,000 tpy. The 

semi-continuous medium section mill supplied 

by SMS Meer, for an annual production 

of 400,000 t of final products, is intended to 

produce steel sections from 100 mm x 50 

mm to 350 mm x 175 mm as well as channels 

and angles. Adding rounds and flats to 

the product range at a later stage is possible 

within the framework of a future expansion 

project. The mill features a 130-t/h walkingbeam 

furnace, a two-high reversing roughing 

stand as well as a continuous finishing 

train made up of nine roll stands, six of 

which being universal/two-high stands. The 

roll stands are modular compact stands in 

CS design. They are interchangeable and 

can be used alternatively as horizontal/vertical 

or universal stands. 

Overall planning. The overall planning of 

the works was realized jointly by SMS Concast 

and SMS Meer. The successful commissioning 

of the meltshop and the rolling mill 

is a demonstration of the SMS group’s competence 

and innovative power in the longproducts 

sector.

New order 

About 1 million t of steel and 500,000 t of rebars 

South Steel, Saudi Arabia: 

Minimill order for rebar production 

Last year SMS Concast and SMS Meer 

were contracted by South Steel Company 

of Saudi Arabia, which is part of 

Pan Kingdom Invest, for the construction 

of a minimill for rebars. The volume 

of this steelworks order amounts to 

over EUR 90 million. The new minimill 

will be designed for an annual production 

of 1 million t and is intended to 

supply the downstream rebar rolling 

mill with billets. The rolling mill will 

have an annual production capacity of 

500,000 t. Commissioning is scheduled 

for the middle of 2011. 

Electric steelworks for up to 100 % HBI 

charging (hot briquetted iron). The meltshop 

will feature a 140-t AC electric arc furnace 

as meltdown unit. The melting rate 

will be around 24 heats/day. The EAF will 

be of the full-platform eccentric-bottomtapping 

design. A highlight of this project 

is that it will be SMS Concast’s first minimill 

with an EAF and LF which can be operated 

with up to 100 % HBI (hot briquetted iron) 

charging, if required. Special focus will be 

laid on the fine-tuning of the relationship 

between the melting process and the HBI 

rate with the objective in mind to achieve 

a homogeneous process running at maximum 

productivity. 

Power will be supplied by a 150-MVA transformer 

used in conjunction with the Consotech 

equipment for chemical power 

input. The melting unit will be equipped 

with the latest generation of electrode con- 

trol and process automation. This makes for 

maximum flexibility in furnace operation, 

providing the basis for the desired variable 

composition of the charge while ensuring a 

constant and reproducible melting process. 

In the design, special emphasis is placed on 

aspects critical to the continuous charging 

of the furnace and the meltdown behavior, 

namely material-flow management, EAF 

technology and melting profiles. 

Secondary metallurgy. Secondary-metallurgy 

treatment will take place in a 140-t 

ladle furnace supplied by an own 26-MVA 

transformer. 

The billet caster. The continuous casting 

plant will feature five strands and a casting 

radius of 9 m. It will produce billets in the 

size range from 130 mm x 130 mm to 150 

mm x 150 mm. The casting machine will be 

equipped with Convex® mold technology, 

mold stirrers and a hydraulic mold oscillation 

system. 

The rebar rolling mill. The rebar rolling 

mill supplied by SMS Meer will include a 

walking-beam furnace with several control 

zones. The fuel/air ratios can be monitored 

separately for each zone. This minimizes 

fuel consumption and provides high flexi- 

bility in furnace operation for all production 

quantities. The fully automated rolling 

mill will comprise 16 housingless stands in 

horizontal and vertical arrangement, followed 

by a six-stand Mono-Block finishing 

stand for high-speed rolling of bars, as well 

as a bar-quenching system. Downstream 

of these units, a cooling bed and the finishing 

and bundling facilities will be 

arranged. The compact design of the “HL” 

mill housings will ensure finished products 

with close tolerances. 

The High-Speed Delivery System will enhance 

plant productivity, enabling the mill 

to achieve a maximum finish-rolling speed 

to the cooling bed of 41 m/s for 8- to 10mm-diameter 

rebars. The overall plant 

concept meets all requirements on efficiency, 

flexibility and reduced maintenance. 

At the same time it will provide 

high operational reliability and high productivity. 

SMS Meer’s scope of supply also 

includes the level-2 automation system 

and the complete electrical equipment. 


27

Commissioning 

Upgrading the mill train at Hoesch Schwerter Profile GmbH, 

Germany, was a special challenge for both the operator and 

the machine builder SMS Meer. What made this job so special 

was the three-stage modernization concept, enabling shutdown 

periods to be minimized to the greatest possible extent 

and ongoing production of the mill between short shutdown 

periods. 

Ambitious goals. In August 2007, Hoesch Schwerter Profile 

GmbH, a member of Calvi Holding, Italy, had commissioned SMS 

Meer to upgrade the mill train for special sections. The goal was 

to increase the availability, the yield and the flexibility as well as 

to improve the quality of the finished products. 

New CS® mill stands. The modernization concept perfectly tailored 

to customer’s demands comprised an exchange of the existing 

universal and two-high mill stands with the CS® mill stands 

(Compact Stands) developed by SMS Meer. These stands offer automatic 

quick changing for an increase in flexibility and a reduction 

of setup times as well as a compact design, very high stand 

rigidity and high adjusting accuracy. Key assembly groups such as 

the adjusting equipment could be standardized for all stand types. 

Customized mill stand solution. The CS® concept enables a high 

flexibility and is optimally suited for the requirements when rolling 

special sections. For this customized mill stand solution it was considered 

that the existing rolls and guides could be re-used. As a result, 

the special section mill became notably efficient. In total, four 

universal and four two-high stands as well as one edger were supplied 

and an existing edger was upgraded. The four universal 

stands were pre-assembled in our workshop and the complete 

stand piping was mounted. 



”Just like an open-heart surgery” 

Hoesch Schwerter Profile: 

Modernization in three steps 

Universal stand pre-assembled in the Mönchengladbach workshop. 

Extensive ancillary facilities. Likewise modernized were descaling 

and centering devices as well as grip-type tilters ensuring optimal 

conditions of the rolled material when special sections are 

rolled. Our scope of supply included also the mill stand changing 

devices and the assembly area in a new pre-assembly workshop 

for stands and the required supply systems as well as the electrical 

equipment and the automation for the new facilities. The IBA- 

Logic system in version 4 was applied first for the whole control. 

The implementation was realized by Fest, our electrical equipment 

partner, on our behalf.

The new pre-assembly bay. 

Component installation. Foundation and media platform construction. 

Pre-assembled universal stand in the workshop. 

The three upgrading stages. The threestage 

modernization concept consisted of 

the following stages: 

Stage 1: It mainly comprised the preparation 

of the foundations, the installation of 

new stand bedplates, the media facilities 

and the assembly of the media platform 

for the accommodation of the valve 

stands, the local control pulpits, the electric 

cabinets and the cables and piping and 

eventually the resumption of production 

with the existing mill stands. 

Stage 2: Installation of new stand changing 

devices and assembly area. Assembly and 

resumption of production with new and existing 

stands on place P2 and the edger. 

Stage 3: Installation of the new centering 

and descaling devices and the grip-type 

tilters as well as the completion of place 

P3. Resumption of production with the 

new stands P2, edger, P3 in tandem rolling 

operation. 

After the completion of stage 3 the mill train has been put back 

into operation in fall. The tandem rolling operation was realized 

shortly afterwards. On October 12, 2009, a 16-week trial operation 

with optimization phase finally started. 

Such complex modernization steps executed in an extremely confined 

space require a high degree of professionalism and cooperation of 

the project teams from Hoesch Schwerter Profile GmbH and SMS 

Meer. With this upgrading measure the company in Schwerte, Germany, 

has further expanded its leading position in the production 

field of special sections. 

Rolls with new mill stands. 


29

Commissioning 

At Peiner Träger GmbH, Germany, SMS Meer has modernized 

the medium-section mill which was re-opened on September 

1, 2009. After the restart, the mill could be ramped up very 

rapidly whereby a large number of sections were rolled at 

various dimensions in ”running-in mode” from the very beginning. 

In the first 18 days already 25,000 t of salable sections 

were produced. An extended product range now comprises 

beams with a web height of up to 450 mm and a flange 

width of 260 mm as well as channels up to 400 mm, equal 

and unequal angles up to 250 mm and a large number of special 

steel sections. 


Production increased very quickly 

Peiner Träger: 

Medium-section mill upgraded 

Following an operating time of 35 years and about 16.8 

million t of beams and other steel sections, the continuous 

finishing train of the universal medium-section mill 

(UMIT) has been upgraded in Peine at the end of 2009 

within a period of just six weeks. Thanks to the installed 

universal tandem-reversing rolling technology instead of 

continuous finish-rolling, smaller lots can now be produced 

more quickly and efficiently, and specific customer 

demands can be even better satisfied. Since the modernization, 

already 258,000 t of finished products have been 

rolled on the mill until the end of February 2010. About 

50 staff members of Peiner Träger and SMS Meer jointly 

celebrated this good result in January 2010. 


Owing to a very detailed planning and partial pre-assembly of the 

mill stands during production, the modernization and cold commissioning 

could be completed during a standstill period of only 

six weeks. In such a short time, the mill equipment weighing a total 

of approx. 3,000 t had to be handled for the purpose of disassembly 

or re-assembly and tests. In addition, a large number of supply 

systems were mounted still during rolling operation and almost 

60 km piping was installed. Parallel to dismantling, cleaning work 

had already been carried out, new foundations were laid, anchor 

holes drilled as well as new bedplates installed. 

A good performance: 25,000 t in 18 days. 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

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� 

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The CRS® roller straightener. 

To minimize storage requirements on the 

site and to save costs we have delivered 

the materials and mill components required 

for erection ”just-in-time”. In the 

peak phase almost 100 specialists worked 

around the clock. 

Together with the CRS® roller straightener 

supplied by us which already went on 

stream in 2008, the mill train is now able to 

fulfill increased market demands with regard 

to flexibility, profitability and quality. 

Due to the modernizations by SMS Meer, 

the modernization project ”UMIT 2010” 

has been completed and the technological 

leadership of Peiner Träger GmbH has 

been strengthened. 

A four-crank shear weighing almost 50 t was placed 

onto the bedplate by means of two shop cranes and 

one lifting-beam attachment. 

Congratulations 

40th anniversary 

of SMS Meer S.p.A. 

On September 25, 2009, SMS Meer 

S.p.A. in Tarcento, Italy, has celebrated 

its 40th anniversary. A gala evening at 

Castello Susanna in the mountains 

above the city and a family celebration 

on the works premises gave the event a 

worthy setting. 

Founded in September 1969 as a limited liability 

company under the name of ”Industrie 

Meccanche Attrezzature Carpentiere”, 

the company changed its name in 1973 to 

S.I.M.A.C. S.p.A. In 1991, SMS Schloemann- 

Siemag took over 50 % of the capital funds 

and in 1995 the other half. In April 2005, the 

company changed its name to now SMS 

Meer S.p.A., responsible for the Light Section 

Mills Product Division. The company stands 

for a whole series of significant technical innovations 

which have contributed to an excellent 

reputation of SMS Meer worldwide. 

Our guidelines are: focusing on value-creating 

technologies, a high level of innovation 

and further development of products and 

services. 


31

New order 

Slovakia Steel Mills a.s. placed an 

order with SMS Concast AG and SMS Meer 

GmbH for the supply of a complete mini steel 

mill consisting of an electric steel plant, a continuous 

caster and a rolling mill for the production 

of bar steel and wire rod at an annual 

production rate of 500,000 t. The new plant in 

Strážske with a total area of almost 37 ha is 

the first mini mill to be built in Slovakia and 

production is scheduled to start in Q4 2010. 

Electric steel plant with 60-t AC electric arc furnace. The key element 

of the steelworks is a 60-t AC electric arc furnace from SMS 

Concast designed for 100% scrap charging. The electric arc furnace 

has an eccentric bottom taphole and a full platform design. A 60- 

MVA transformer together with chemical energy input provided by 

the equipment from Consotech ® guarantees an optimized power 

input. The latest-generation electrode control system and the 

process automation regulate all the functions of the electric arc 

furnace and guarantee the repeatability of the performance parameters 

even with differing charge scrap compositions. An efficient 

automation system monitors the overall performance and 

guarantees constant operating and melting costs. 

60-t ladle furnace provides secondary metallurgical treatment. 

The facility from SMS Concast ensures that non-metallic 

inclusions are avoided and guarantees outstanding castability and 

32 Newsletter No. 3/2009 

Minimills 

for long products 

All production facilities from SMS Concast and SMS Meer 

SSM, Slovakia: Minimill for bar steel 

and wire rod ordered 

optimized product properties. The transformer employed has a 

rated power of 16 MVA + 20% overload reserve. The process 

control systems offer the operator a possibility of communication, 

including laboratory and steelworks planning. The process status 

is documented. Calculations for assessment of temperature and 

additives for alloying and slag formation simplify the achievement 

of the target parameters. 

Three-strand billet caster. In the development of the continuous 

caster the production demands with respect to steel grade and annual 

production were taken into consideration by the engineers 

from SMS Concast. Attention was additionally given to the demands 

for the quality steels to be produced in future SBQ applications 

for the automotive and machine engineering industries. 

Against this background, a continuous caster with three strands 

having a radius of eight meters and equipped with Convex ® technology 

was selected. Its extremely high level of automation meets 

all process requirements and quality demands. 

Hot charging. The direct link between continuous 

caster and rolling mill using roller tables and a billet 

hoist permits hot charging for the majority of the production. 

Square billets of 130 mm x 130 mm and a 

maximum length of 12 m are used for all 

rolled products.

The new metallurgical complex will be equipped with BAT eco-technologies to meet European directives. 

Rolling mill with three finishing lines. The rolling mill has three 

finishing lines consisting of wire rod outlet, bar outlet with highspeed 

delivery (HSD ® ) system and the patented vertical compact 

coiler (VCC) for particularly compact rebar coils. 

Scope of supply from SMS Meer. SMS Meer supplies a walking-hearth 

furnace for a capacity of 60 t/h with cold charging and 

80 t/h for hot charging, the mechanical and electrical equipment 

for the rolling mill, the supply systems for hydraulics and lubricating 

oil, and is also responsible for the supervision of erection 

and commissioning. 

Production of steel bars. The six-stand roughing mill, followed by 

a cropping and chopping shear, and the eight-stand bar finishing 

train both have housingless stands arranged alternately horizontally 

and vertically. The finishing mill is equipped with a quick-change 

platform for quick program changing. 

Production of wire rod. In the wire delivery section, the shear 

group and a wire rod block with ten rolling units are arranged 

downstream of a water box on which sizes from 5.5 to 16 mm 

can be rolled with a maximum speed of 105 m/s. Two further 

water boxes, a pinch roll unit, a loop laying head, an 82 m long 

loop cooling conveyor (LCC ® ), a coil forming chamber, a vertical 

coil transport facility and the vertical coil compactor complete the 

wire rod outlet section. 

Production of rebars. For the production of rebars, the wire rod 

block supplies the dimensions from 8 to 16 mm via a cooling section 

at speeds of up to 36 m/s to the proven high-speed delivery 

(HSD ® ) system. The larger dimensions up to 36 mm are produced 

on the bar finishing mill and are also delivered to the HSD ® system 

via a water cooling section. Downstream of the 66 m long cooling 

bed is a cold shear, an automatic bar counter, a bundler, two wire 

tying machines and the coil loading station. 

VCC coiler. A further special feature is the patented VCC coiler 

from SMS Meer. This proven technology produces extremely compact 

coils in the size range from 8 to 16 mm at speeds of up to 35 

m/s. In the first planned development stage, only one coiler will be 

installed. For this, the switch behind the cooling section diverts the 

products alternately either to the VCC coiler or to the HSD ® system. 

The later installation of a second coiler is planned. 

Layout of minimill. 

The new steelworks and the 

rolling mill of Slovakia Steel 

Mills will be installed on an 

area of 36.7 ha in the industrial 

zone of Strážske, East Slovakia. 

Investments amount to EUR 

178 million. For the production 

of high-grade structural steel 

state-of-the-art technologies 

are applied. Thanks to the investment, 

350 jobs are directly 

created for this region and 

about 250 indirect jobs will be 

available plus approx. 700 work 

places during erection. 

Newsletter No. 3/2009 33

The new medium-section mill at Steel Dynamics 

Inc. (SDI) in Columbia City, Indiana, USA, is 

becoming the standard for continuous mills 

producing structural steel in the 6 to 15 inch 

range. The main new features of the mill supplied 

by SMS Meer, which came on stream in 

mid-2008, are the 15 stands based on the new 

compact mill stand (CS design), characterized 

by high rigidity and low deflection under load 

coupled with simplicity of design and reduced 

weight. 

Layout of medium-section mill. 


Long-product mills 

Broad product spectrum 

SDI, Columbia City, USA: 

The new medium-section mill 

The flexibility of the design, with three convertible 

stands, allows for a wide production 

range. The quick-change platform limits 

change time to 20 minutes. Attention 

has been given to product quality, with inline 

laser profile gages and hydraulic gage 

control in the last two stands. 

Starting material and finished products. The mill will be fed 

by three billet sizes: two square ones at an edge length of 6” and 

7”, one rectangular shape of 10” x 8”, and one beam blank size 

of 430 mm x 260 mm. The maximum length is 15 m (50’). The 

mill is designed to roll a variety of structural shapes: W beams, 

from 4” to 14”; S beams up to 15”; channels up to 15”; equal 

and unequal angles up to 8”; M beams up to 12”. Product 

lengths are from 20’ to 120’. 

The mill is predisposed for future equipment additions to be able to 

add smaller products and flats up to 12”. In addition, the equipment 

is designed also to allow increasing the product range up to 18”. 

Bird’s-eye view of the SDI works in Columbia City, with the new medium-section 

mill in the background.

Furnace and rolling mill 

Reheat furnace. 

Reheat furnace. The stock re-heating to 

rolling temperature is performed by a 200 

t/h walking-beam reheating furnace. With 

dimensions of 52’ wide by 76’ long, the 

furnace is equipped with a total of 64 ultralow 

NOx burners providing a maximum total 

330 mmBTU/h (BTU = British Thermal 

Unit), corresponding to 83 Gcal/h. In order 

to simplify the control system and to increase 

the efficiency at the same time, the 

furnace is divided into seven independently 

controlled heating zones plus one unfired 

zone. The combustion air is supplied 

to the furnace by two centrifugal fans via 

an air recuperator where it is heated up to 

a maximum temperature of 550 °C. A dilution 

air blower provides safety cold air in 

case of overheating. Furnace charging is 

through a frontal door while discharge is 

laterally. 

SMS Meer supplied the furnace inclusive 

of the level 1 and level 2 controls. The latter 

includes several heating curves (related 

to the different product mix of size and 

lengths), the control of the digital operation 

of the burners and the furnace operation. 

At the exit of the furnace, a high-pressure descaler (210 bar) 

prepares the stock for rolling. The roller table feeding the mill 

is provided with insulating covers to minimize temperature 

losses. Shaping takes place in a continuous mill made of 15 

stands, in horizontal, convertible and universal positions. All 

stands are of the same size and are based on the innovative 

SMS Meer CS stand design. 

Structure of rolling mill 

Roughing mill with stand changing car. 

n Roughing mill: made up of five stands, with stands 1, 3 and 5 

being convertible and 2 and 4 in two-high (horizontal) design. A 

flying crop shear follows the roughing mill. 

n Finishing mill: composed by the final ten stands, in two-high 

or universal stands. A crop shear is installed downstream of 

stand No.11, a final dividing shear is installed at the end of the 

mill. A laser profile gage immediately precedes the dividing 

shear. 

The mill is equipped with quick-changing cars that allow a complete 

size change in 20 minutes. The mill is characterized by a high 

degree of flexibility thanks to: convertible stand design on the 

roughing mill (Pos. 1, 3 and 5), possibility of using universal rolls in 

eight of the ten finishing mill positions, availability of several initial 

material sizes. 

» 


CS mill stands 

Convertible stand. The core technology of the continuous mill is 

the innovative SMS Meer CS stand design. Made of fabricated and 

non-cast components, this design merges high rigidity with low 

weight and reduced manufacturing and operational cost. 

Benefits of the CS design 

n Closed-type housing and small window design made from 

rolled slab steel, 50 % higher yield point, free of inclusions 

and shrink holes for the housing material (compared with 

conventional cast steel), i.e. higher wear resistance 

n Compact, simple and rigid stand design due to 

FEM-optimized design and prestressed tie rod system 

n Limited deflection under rolling loads due to improved 

mill spring values 

n Improved stand stiffness compared with housingless 

(HL) stands, especially for the vertical rolls 

n High screw-down accuracy due to zero-gap calibration 

(zeroing) 

n Modular design, suitable for universal, horizontal and 

vertical mode 

n Different stand types completely interchangeable 

n Each stand is shiftable for use of multi-grooved rolls 

(max. 1,500 mm) 

n Increased diameter ranges for roll redressing, 

i.e. longer roll life 

n Use of different roll barrel lengths possible by easy exchange 

of the tying elements of the housing parts 

n Short changing time through pre-adjustment of rolls and 

guides in the preparation area 

n Possibility of easy exchange of single housing parts in case 

of wear after long operating time, due to identical and 

interchangeable parts 

n No additional coupling during stand change through 

automatic media couplings 

n Individual or synchronized adjustments for top and bottom rolls 

n Hydraulic balancing of top roll 

n Backlash-free axial adjustment of top roll 

n Integration of roll-pass control or mechanical adjustment 

system possible without major modifications 



Compact stand. 

Finishing area 

Cooling bed and straighteners. The cooling 

bed is a combination rake-type and 

chain conveyor and has a quick delivery 

system for lighter products. The rake-type 

initial area ensures proper material straightening. 

The chain conveyor area is equipped 

with water spray cooling, operating in the 

low temperature range, to improve the capacity 

of the cooling bed. The cooling bed 

length is (82 m) 270’ and it is (22 m) 72’ 

wide. 

The single-line horizontal straightener is 

of cantilever design of the newest generation. 

The machine is equipped with eight

Magnetic stacker. 

Saw in operation. 

Stand change in the continuous mill. Straightener. 

straightening rolls and has a pitch of 

1,400/1,250/1,100 mm, ideal for straightening 

the wide product range. All rolls are 

individually powered. The material is guided 

in the straightener by two vertical 

guide rollers at the entry and exit sides. 

All straightener rolls can accommodate 

two or three straightening discs. The distance 

between the straightening discs is 

adjustable. Thus, for beams and channel 

series with the same inner radius, straightening 

roll changes can be waived with 

great improvement in flexibility and plant 

availability. A quick-changing system with 

changing crane is provided. 

Finishing area. At the exit of the straightener, 

the beams are side transferred by a 

chain conveyor. At the entry side, a turn-up 

device allows inspection of the straightened 

bars. The layer collecting bed is 75 m 

long and 14 m wide. The layer is then 

transferred by roller table to the cutting 

area. Provisions were made for a future installation 

of a multi-strand straightener and 

cold shear in order to guarantee higher production 

rates also for smaller and lighter 

products. 

The cut to length is performed by two 

fixed saws, each equipped with stop-gage. 

Provisions were made for a future third 

movable saw. After cutting, the material is 

piled by magnetic stackers and transferred 

to the shipping bays after strapping. The 

cooling bed and finishing area have space 

allowance for future capacity increases. 




Universal medium-section mill – faster and more flexible 

Large-scale modernization at 

Peiner Träger completed 

Commissioning 

After a standstill period of only six 

weeks at Peiner Träger GmbH, Germany, 

the universal medium-section 

mill upgraded by SMS Meer has been 

re-opened on September 1, 2009. 

New CCS ® mill stand in the medium-section mill. (Source: Salzgitter AG). 

Production of tandem reversing mill in full swing.

For this modernization the 

continuous finishing train of 

the universal medium-section 

mill (UMIT) has been adapted 

to modern market requirements 

following an operating 

time of 35 years and approx. 

16.8 million t of rolled beams 

and structural-steel sections. 

Advantageous state-of-the-art rolling 

technology using CCS ® mill stands. The 

novel universal tandem-reversing rolling 

technology is now applied also on this 

rolling plant instead of continuous finishrolling 

which ensures that also smaller 

rolling lots can be quickly and efficiently 

produced and that specific customer demands 

are fulfilled. A replacement of the 

rolls is easier so that beams of different dimensions 

and grades can be produced in 

succession without much loss of time. 

The beams will be more accurate to size 

and feature a very smooth surface. In the 

future it is possible to also roll high-grade 

special steel sections on the UMIT mill and 

to therefore gain new potential customers. 

All this could be achieved by applying the 

tandem reversing rolling technology developed 

by SMS Meer with universal twohigh 

rolling stands in CCS ® design and automatic 

hydraulic roll-gap control inclusive 

of an automatic quick program change. 

Flying shear and elevated roller tables. 

The existing flying shear for cutting the 

rolling stock in cooling-bed lengths has additionally 

been replaced by a more powerful 

four-crank shear. Owing to the use of 

elevated roller tables up- and downstream 

of the tandem reversing mill group, bars at 

a length of more than 200 m can be rolled 

out in spite of a limited bay length. 

Supply including planning and supervision. The scope of supply 

of SMS Meer included in addition to the supply and startup of 

all mechanical equipment also the supply of piping, auxiliaries and 

safety equipment as well as the disassembly and assembly of the 

facilities and the foundations. Included in our scope of supply are 

planning and supervision services as well as customer’s training. 

Altogether 3,000 t of equipment dismantled. Thanks to an extensive 

detail planning and partial pre-building of the roll stands on 

site during production, the modernization and the cold commissioning 

could be realized during a shutdown period of six weeks. 

During this time about 3,000 t of equipment was dismantled and 

the new facilities were mounted and tested. 

25,000 t of salable products rolled after only 18 days. After the 

mill had been taken into operation on September 1, 2009, it could 

be ramped up very rapidly while a number of beams and dimensions 

were “entered” from the very beginning. During an initial 18 

days already 15,000 t of salable products were rolled. 

Now, large beams with a web height of up to 450 mm. An extended 

product range comprises beams with a web height of up to 

450 mm and a flange width of 260 mm. Channels up to 400 mm, 

equal and unequal angles up to 250 mm and a number of special 

steel sections can additionally be rolled. 

Modernization project of the last two years completed. In connection 

with the startup of the CRS ® roller straightener in 2008 the 

upgraded mill train is able to fulfill today’s and future market demands 

with regard to flexibility, profitability and quality. Due to the 

upgrade and the modernization of key facilities of the mill train by 

SMS Meer over the last two years, the modernization project 

“UMIT 2010“ has been completed and the technological leadership 

of Peiner Träger GmbH has been guaranteed. 

CRS ® roller straightener during commissioning. 


World record 



Unique rolling mill for 700,000 tpy of rebars 

Stefana, Italy: World record 

for rolling of straight bars 

The bar mill of Stefana S.p.A., Italy, built by 

SMS Meer came on stream in mid-2008 and 

is unique in view of productivity and product 

quality. The mill reaches full capacity at all 

dimensions of the product mix. Now, the 

production line at Ospitaletto in northern 

Italy has set a new world record on July 2009 

for the rolling of straight bars on the cooling 

bed: the new mill produced salable coils 

made of rebars at a diameter of 8 mm and an 

average real speed of 40 m/s over several 

hours during shift operation. 

This performance is equivalent to a production of single bars at 

double speed, i.e. as if 80 m/s would have been achieved. A target 

limit value which had formerly only been planned has now 

actually been reached and further improvements can soon be expected. 

At a production of 8-mm rebars with slitting and the two-strand 

HSD ® system and at a rolling speed of 40 m/s billets are required 

to such an extent that the maximum furnace capacity of 106 t/h 

is almost reached. 

VCC station. Coil bundling and tying system. 

Two-strand HSD ® system for supreme performances. The facilities 

for a high performance of this future-oriented mill are 

mainly two slitting lines in combination with a two-strand HSD ® 

system as well as the control system with software developed 

by SMS Meer. 

The basic principle of a two-strand HSD ® system is to finish-roll 

bars in two six-stand and V-shaped finishing blocks and to cut 

them with two state-of-the-art high-speed disc type dividing 

shears. Then, the bars are processed over their entire length in 

four braking pinch-roll units (two for each strand) and two dual-rotating 

channels installed on top of the entry table of the cooling 

bed. Only one bar per tooth is deposited on the cooling-bed 

rakes to make sure that a clean layer is available for the bundling 

and tying systems. 

Largest furnace of its class. Other mill components worth mentioning 

are a walking-hearth furnace for the heating of 16-m-long 

square billets at a cross-section of 160 mm x 160 mm, which is 

one of the largest of its class, as well as two of our patented VCC 

(Vertical Compact Coiler) facilities.

Yield improved by 30 %. A benefit of the unusual furnace 

length is a yield improved by 30 % compared to furnaces for 

12-m billets. Compact coils can additionally be produced with 

weights up to 3.2 t. This coil size is advantageous for downstream 

transport, storage, further handling and other tasks. 

Production mode selectable: only straight bars or only 

compact coils or both mixed. Alternatively to a restriction of 

straight bars produced without exception via the HSD ® system 

or to compact coils produced only via the VCC station, a mixed 

production mode can also be selected. In this case, the strand 

is delivered from a finishing block onto the cooling bed while 

the VCC system is charged at the same time by the second 

finishing block. 

Improved yield and higher productivity. Needless to say, 

that the new production concept at Stefana reduces the number 

of short bars and the accumulated scrap which on the other 

hand results in a reduction of the production costs. Therefore, 

the new bar rolling mill at Stefana S.p.A. achieves an improved 

production yield and higher productivity. The results 

also show that excellent economic results can be attained by 

competent and detailed advice. 

Finish-tied coil. 

VCC coiler – 

Vertical Compact Coiler 

from SMS Meer 

VCC facilities from SMS Meer – shown on 

the photo below – with outstanding technology 

are used for the production of steel 

bars. The system was developed by SMS 

Meer. 

In August 2009, the Court of Appeals in 

Trieste, Italy, rejected all contestations of 

our competitors pending further notice 

(N295/09 Sent). 




Thermomechanical rolling of all wire-rod dimensions 

New cost-efficient 

wire-rod mill concept 

A wire-rod finishing block consisting of a sixstand 

plus a four-stand rolling unit enables 

thermomechanical rolling of wire rod in all 

standard dimensions at low costs and high 

productivity. This innovative concept has 

been successfully implemented by SMS Meer 

in two wire rod mills for Weifang Iron & Steel, 

China, which have meanwhile been put on 

stream. 

Six-stand and four-stand rolling units. Thermomechanical 

rolling of wire rod at small dimensions and high productivity cannot 

be attained with a conventional ten-stand finishing block. Due to 

the required number of passes, the heating up is too much to realize 

the desired metallurgical properties. By separating the conventional 

wire-rod finishing block into a six-stand and a four-stand 

unit, a wire rod of any dimension can be finish-rolled on the second 

unit at a maximum number of four passes. 

Loop technology reaches temperature reduction down to 

750 °C. By means of sufficient cooling and perfect temperature 

equalization over the cross-section, thermomechanical rolling can 

also be achieved with a high production volume, and the loop 

technology from SMS Meer which we have successfully applied 

already in several wire rod mills also offers a good precondition. 

Consequently, the temperature can be reduced to 750 °C when 

the wire rod enters the first finishing block i.e. at temperature deviations 

of less than 50 °C. 

This is a significant precondition to reach 

again 750 °C prior to the last four shaping 

passes in the case of dimensions which 

still have to be produced in a total of ten 

passes. This enables a normalizing or thermomechanical 

rolling even for smaller 

cross-sections. 

View on both wire rod mills at Weifang Iron & Steel. 

Loop on a wire rod mill.

Temperature progression for wire rod at a diameter of 5.5 mm; 

rolling speed V=105 m/s; steel grade: cold-upsetting grade. 

Temperature progression for wire rod at a diameter of 16 mm; 

rolling speed V=26.5 m/s; steel grade: cold-upsetting grade. 

The two temperature charts are examples of the excellent functioning 

of the new concept. Our updated wire rod mill concept enables 

the customers to enter a new quality sphere for wire rod at 

small cross-sections and with a comparatively low capital expenditure. 

The successful startup of the two wire rod mills based on this 

concept implemented at Weifang Iron & Steel which have attained 

excellent tolerance values and high productivity furnishes 

proof of this efficient concept. 

Six-stand finishing block, opened. 

Four-stand block during mill operation. 




SBQ round bars produced in the range from 25 to 127 mm 

Timken, USA: PSM ® and bar finishing 

section put into operation 

Commissioning 

Control desk ahead of the PSM ® block 

with E+A supplied by SMS Meer. 

In September 2008, the Timken Company in 

Canton, Ohio, USA, has commissioned new 

facilities jointly with SMS Meer to extend its 

existing Harrison Steel bar mill. “The facility 

will reach full capacity in August 2009,“ says 

Tom Moline, Steel Manufacturing Vice-President 

of Timken. 

The expansion increases the mill capacity, extends the product 

size range and improves product quality for the production of SBQ 

round bars in the range from 25 to 127 mm. Shortly after commissioning, 

tolerances of ½ ASTM were already being achieved reflecting 

the high performance ability of the mill and documenting 

the precision of the hydraulic roll adjustment systems. 

Operation in full swing on the PSM ® block. 

One-Family rolling 

and free-size rolling 

The scope of supply from SMS Meer includes 

a 3-roll precision sizing mill (PSM ® ) 

as well as a bar finishing section with cooling 

bed, cut-off and loading facilities. The 

PSM ® is arranged downstream of the existing 

rolling mill and allows both a standardized 

groove to be employed in the 

roughing and intermediate trains (one-family 

rolling) and the infinitely variable production 

of finished sizes by means of roll adjustment 

(free-size rolling).

Automatic gage control 

and monitor control 

The precision sizing mill consists of five roll 

cassettes, each with three rolls which can 

even be hydraulically adjusted under load. 

This also permits automatic gage control 

(AGC) as well as monitor control in connection 

with a laser measuring unit for 

product size measurement installed downline 

of the PSM ® . A CARTA ® process model 

serves for setting of the process parameters. 

SMS Meer also supplied the complete 

electrical equipment and realized the 

automation in cooperation with Timken. 

Cooling bed for 78-m-long bars. The first rolled bars on the cooling bed. 


Commissioning 

The new combined plant which was supplied 

by SMS Meer including the electrical 

equipment and the automation system 

was designed for low- and medium-carbon 

steels with an annual capacity of 250,000 

t. The whole mill train comprises a 50-t/h 

reheating furnace for square billets at a 

cross section of 130 mm x 130 mm and a 

length up to 12 m, followed by a 14-stand 

roughing and intermediate mill. 

The bar outlet essentially consists of a 

high-speed delivery system (HSD ® ) with 

cooling bed for the finished sizes (rebars) 

diameter 6.35 to 25.0 mm and a bar finishing 

line. 



In January 2009, the first wire rod was produced by means of 

a finishing block with the new MEERdrive technology in the 

combined wire rod and bar mill of Siderúrgica Norte Brasil 

S.A., Brazil. 

Combined wire rod and bar mill at Siderúrgica Norte Brasil 

Successful commissioning 

of wire rod and bar mill 

The commissioning team. 

Operator side of finishing block with MEERdrive technology. 

The intermediate mill.

The wire outlet starts with a cropping 

and chopping shear, followed by a finishing 

block and 10 mill stands (MEERdrive) 

with standard module sizes of 200 

and 160, producing wire rod at a diameter 

range 5.5 to 16 mm and rolling 

speeds up to 90 m/s. Two water cooling 

systems, one pinch roll set, a laying 

head and a 65-m-long Loop Cooling Conveyor 

(LCC ® ) ensure optimum controlled 

cooling, laying pattern and coil shape. 

The compact and efficient plant with innovative 

plant technology for producing 

rebars and wire rod provides huge benefits 

with regard to flexibility and quality 

and offers low conversion costs. 

A primary key element is the rod finishing 

block with MEERdrive technology. 

Extensive investigation by means of 

simulation processes combined with our 

experiences for years in the construction 

of rolling plants has been made to ensure 

a stabilized rolling operation and a 

reliable control of the mill stands of the 

finishing block. 

Our experiences made during the successful 

and rapid commissioning have 

given a proven basis for the next step, 

the application of the MEERdrive technology 

at high-speed wire rod mills up to 

130 m/s. 

Thanks to the latest technologies especially 

regarding the applied drive 

train design, innovative concepts can 

now be realized. 

China, USA, Great Britain and India 

For wire rod and bar mills: 

Increased presence 

To boost our business transactions for new 

plants and equipment as well as to expand our 

after-sales service for wire rod and bar mills 

we have intensified our local presence in several 

countries. This new orientation aims at an 

expansion of our product range and an improved 

marketing success due to our local 

presence. 

Shanghai, China 

In Shanghai, we have established SMS Meer Engineering Ltd., 

producing predominantly equipment for wire rod and bar 

mills for the local and international markets. Thanks to setting 

up a service crew, we are able to offer local service as well as 

to supply the market with spare parts. 

Worchester, USA 

In Massachusetts, USA, we have launched a design office 

which provides as center of competence coil handling systems 

and wire coil compactors. 

Chesterfield, Great Britain 

To intensify our services in Europe as well as to upgrade wire 

mills we have recently opened a British office. 

Kolkata, India 

In Kolkata, we have strengthened our local presence by setting 

up our own office. In addition to supporting our sales 

projects within SMS Meer’s complete market program the 

office serves also for order implementation. 




For heavier and larger steel sections 

Stahlwerk Thüringen orders 

new roughing stand 

New order 

The old roughing stand. 

Responding to an order from Stahlwerk 

Thüringen GmbH, a company of the Spanish 

Grupo Alfonso Gallardo, SMS Meer will supply 

a new roughing stand for the long-product 

mill in Unterwellenborn. This powerful rougher 

will replace the existing breakdown stand 

which no longer meets today’s requirements 

owing to the heavier and larger sections 

which the customer has added to the mill’s 

product spectrum. Commissioning is scheduled 

for December 2010. 

The new mill stand will be designed for a 

rolling force of 10,000 kN and will have a 

drive power of 4,400 kW. Further special 

features include automatic roll-gap opening 

in case of overload, partly automated axial 

shifting of the top roll for groove or pass 

adjustment and facilitated roll changing. 

In addition to the new roughing stand, the 

modernization scope includes the renewal 

of the whole drive train, the work roller tables, 

the sideguard manipulators and the 

complete electrical and automation equipment. 

On this rolling mill which SMS Meer supplied 

in 1985 Stahlwerk Thüringen GmbH 

produces more than 200 different steel 

sections. The long-product mill has an annual 

capacity of over 900,000 t. 

The finishing mill modernized in 2003 with our 

patented CCS ® mill stands in tandem arrangement.

Annual capacity: 690,000 t of wire rod 

Wire rod mill with FRS ® equipment 

for ArcelorMittal Hochfeld 

New order 

LCC ® Loop Cooling Conveyor. 

ArcelorMittal Hochfeld GmbH, 

with head office in Duisburg, 

Germany, has placed an order 

with SMS Meer for the 

supply of a high-capacity 

wire rod mill with FRS ® equipment 

for high-grade steels. 

The annual capacity will be 

690,000 t of which the major 

portion will be wire rod products 

of cold-heading steel 

grades. The mill boasts great 

compactness and high efficiency 

and will go into production 

in August 2010. 

Scope of supply. The SMS Meer order 

scope comprises a walking-beam furnace, 

the mechanical and electrical equipment of 

the rolling mill, all of the utility systems, the 

finishing facilities for the wire rod coils, the 

entire rolling and cooling equipment, and 

erection. 

Cooling and equalizing section in loop arrangement. 

Furnace, roughing and intermediate trains. The walking-beam 

furnace for 155-mm square billets has a capacity of 120 t/h. It is followed 

by a four-stand roughing train comprising HL (housingless) 

stands with free runout and an intermediate train consisting of 14 

CL (cantilever) stands, each in horizontal and vertical arrangement. 

Wire rod outlet and FRS ® block. The wire rod outlet comprises 

a cooling and equalizing section in loop arrangement, a wire rod 

block with six rolling units and an FRS ® block (Flexible Reduction 

and Sizing) with four rolling units, both in UHD design (ultraheavy 

duty). 

Forced and retarded cooling. The wire rod block and the FRS ® 

block are each followed by a water cooling line. The heart of the 

mill is the FRS ® block together with the proven cooling and equalizing 

section. In addition, our scope includes the 104-m-long 

LCC ® (Loop Cooling Conveyor) for forced and retarded cooling, a 

total of three water cooling lines and the CCT ® system (Controlled 

Cooling Technology) developed by SMS Meer. 

Ultra-fine microstructures through thermomechanical 

rolling. These facilities will allow ArcelorMittal Hochfeld to produce 

wire rod of the entire dimensional range of 5.5 to 25.0 mm 

by means of temperature-controlled rolling. Ultra-fine micro structures 

can be achieved especially for cold-heading grades by thermomechanical 

rolling. The maximum rolling speed for 5.5-mmdiameter 

wire rod is 120 m/s. 


New order 

Greater availability. The goals of this expansion 

are to increase the availability of 

the rolling mill by reducing the changing, 

set-up and tuning times, and to optimize 

spare-parts stocking. All these procedures 

will be simplified thanks to the introduction 

of uniform stands in one size in the intermediate 

and the finishing train. 

Uniform stands. Comprising four horizontal, 

one vertical and three convertible housingless 

stands (HL), the new continuous intermediate 

and finishing trains will replace 

the existing rolling mill. SMS Meer’s scope 

also includes the supply of all gearboxes, 

spindles, holders and protective equipment. 

A flying shear, various interstand facilities, 

quick-change devices and tools, hydraulic 

and lubrication systems as well as 

an additional12 change cassettes complete 

our scope. All equipment will be pretested 

in SMS Meer’s shops before delivery. 

Automation. The automation package includes 

a PLC (Control Logix/Flex Logix) 

and the corresponding software for the 

HL stands. 



Modernization of bar mill No.1 

Nucor Steel, USA: New intermediate 

and finishing trains for Darlington 

Responding to an order recently received from Nucor Steel 

Darlington (Nucor Bar Mill Group), SMS Meer will supply a new 

intermediate and a new finishing train for the bar mill No. 1 in 

Darlington, South Carolina / USA. Delivery is scheduled for the 

end of 2009 / beginning of 2010. 

new stand controls. The new system will 

be linked to the existing system via an interface. 

SMS Meer will also be responsible 

for the supervision of erection and 

commissioning. 

Comprehensive revamping. This present 

investment is part of an extensive modernization 

program launched by Nucor to 

bring all its facilities up to the state of the 

art to strengthen its competitive edge. 

Eleven section mills at Nucor Bar Mill 

Group. Nucor Steel operates as many as 

eleven section mills at its US locations in 

South Carolina, Nebraska, Texas, Utah, 

New York, Alabama, Illinois, Mississippi, 

Washington, Ohio and Connecticut. These 

mills produce concrete reinforcing bars, 

hot-rolled bars, rod, light shapes, structural 

angles and channels, wire mesh and 

guard rails of C-steels and alloyed grades. 

The products cover a whole range of applications 

in market segments such as 

agriculture, automotive construction, civil 

construction, energy, furniture, mechani- 

HL stand. 

cal engineering, metal construction, rail 

traffic, shipbuilding, heavy-load trucks and 

trailers. Four of the section mills were built 

by Nucor itself between 1969 and 1981. 

The remaining seven mills have been 

purchased since 2000, including the acquisitions 

of Marion Steel Company in 

2005 and of Connecticut Steel Corporation 

in 2006. Altogether, the eleven section 

mills have a total capacity of approx. 

8,060,000 tpy. 

Latest orders 

n Arcelor-Mittal Hochfeld GmbH, 

Germany. High-production wire rod 

mill with FRS ® block (Flexible Reduc - 

tion and Sizing) for quality steel grades, 

especially cold heading grades. 

n Arcelor-Mittal Monlevades S.A., 

Brazil. High-production wire rod mill 

with the possibility of adding a second 

strand and an FRS ® block.

New order 

Capacity: 1 million t of bars annually 

Emirate of Sharjah 

receives bar mill 

Hamriyah Steel, a joint venture 

recently set up by Russian 

Metalloinvest Group and 

Sheikh Sultan Bin Khalifa Bin 

Zayed Al Nahyan from the 

United Arab Emirates, chose 

SMS Meer to erect a bar mill 

in the Emirate of Sharjah 

(UAE). The mill will be designed 

for an annual production 

of 1 million t of bars. The 

main customer will be the 

UAE’s booming building industry. 

Hamriyah Steel intends 

to put the new mill into 

operation at the end of 2009. 

Equipment, services plus electrics and 

automation. SMS Meer will supply the 

complete rolling mill including electrical 

and automation systems. In addition, we 

will be responsible for erection supervision, 

commissioning and training. The automation 

system made by SMS Meer will 

monitor and control the whole production 

process. 

180 t of billets per hour. A 180-t/h walking-beam 

furnace feeds the rolling mill 

with square billets of 125 x 125 mm to 

170 x 170 mm with lengths of up to 12 m 

which are rolled into bars with diameters 

between 10 and 40 mm. 

Housingless stands. The rolling mill will 

be equipped with horizontal and vertical 

housingless stands, some of which can 

be used as both horizontal and vertical 

units. The stands come with quick-changing 

devices. The smallest sizes will be 

rolled by means of the four-slit rolling 

method. A water box for quenching and 

tempering the bars ensures the specific 

mechanical properties for the building industry. 

The fully automated cooling bed, 

the separating devices as well as the 

bundling and tying station will likewise be 

supplied by SMS Meer. 


Commissioning 

In the spring of 2008, Stefana 

S.p.A., located in Ospitaletto, province of 

Brescia, northern Italy, successfully commissioned 

a completely new bar mill from SMS 

Meer. Featuring a whole range of high-tech 

equipment, the new mill can produce some 

120 t / h of rebars or plain rounds, in case of 

hot charging 140 t / h, conforming to a total 

annual output of 700,000 t of sections. It 

hence ranks among the most productive 

rolling mills in southern Europe. 

Stefana and SMS Meer had signed the contract for this project 

named “Dream Steel” in 2005 to boost the production of 

straight bars and spools. The original layout of the mill reserved 

space for later installation of a billet welding machine to enable 

endless rolling, as well as for mill extension to enable the production 

of wire rod. 

Walking-hearth furnace. SMS Meer’s package included a walking-hearth 

furnace for 160 mm x 160 mm square billets up to 16 

m long. A connection to the existing casting machine permits the 

billets to be cold- or hot-charged. The furnace is equipped with all 

required charging and discharging facilities. 

Rolling mill with 16 roll stands and two finishing blocks. The 

rolling mill comprises 16 housingless roll stands – six roughing 

stands in horizontal and vertical arrangement plus ten intermediate/finishing 

stands in horizontal, vertical and convertible design. 

In addition, two finishing blocks, each with six rolling units, three 

cooling sections for rebar quenching and tempering from rolling 

heat, two cooling-bed shears and the patented HSD ® High-Speed 

Delivery system belong to the mill’s equipment. 

HSD ® system for maximum production rates. The HSD ® system 

with four rotating channels permits high-speed two-slit rolling 

to attain maximal production rates for the smallest bar sizes. 



700,000 t of rebars and plain rounds per year 

Stefana, Italy: Bar mill 

successfully started up

Finishing area with 90-m cooling bed. 

The finishing area comprises a 90-m-long 

cooling bed, various transport systems, a 

cold shear, bundling equipment, four automatic 

tying machines with automatic labeling 

system, bundle conveyors, and all 

required auxiliary facilities. The two VCC ® 

Vertical Compact Coilers consist of cooling 

boxes, shears, spooling equipment, a 

spool manipulator, two strapping machines, 

transport facilities and a weighing 

station. 

SMS Meer as full-line supplier. In addition 

to all mechanical equipment, SMS 

Meer supplied the complete electric and 

electronic equipment, controls as well as 

the software for the automation of the 

rolling mill. Erection, supervision of rollingmill 

commissioning and training of customer’s 

personnel were also included in 

our scope. 

Technical data 

n Annual capacity 700,000 t 

n Product mix: rebars and plain rounds 

n Diameters: 8 to 16 mm, 

2-slit rolling 

n Diameters: 18 to 40 mm, 

normal rolling 

n Discharge by means of the HSD ® 

system with rolling speeds of 

up to 40 m/s onto the cooling bed 

n Two VCC ® Vertical Compact Coilers 

for rebar spools with a diameter of 

700 mm, a height of 700 mm and 

a weight of up to 3.2 t 

n Rebars have diameters between 

8 and 16 mm and are coiled on the 

two VCC ® facilities at speeds of up 

to 35 m/s 


Commissioning 



Productivity of long-product mill boosted by up to 50 % 

Hellenic Halyvourgia: HSD ® High-Speed 

Delivery system successful 

HSD ® High-Speed 

Delivery system 

for the cooling bed. 

Cooling bed. 

In July 2007, Athens-based 

Hellenic Halyvourgia S.A. 

started up a new High-Speed 

Delivery system (HSD ® ) from 

SMS Meer. Since then, the 

Greek steelmaker’s productivity 

has risen distinctly. 

Today, almost one year later, 

a long-term evaluation confirms 

the excellent production 

figures: with the new 

equipment, Hellenic Haly - 

vourgia’s productivity for 8mm-diameter 

rebars is 50 % 

higher than with the former 

mill configuration.

Revamp with just 

minor production losses 

To modernize the long-product mill, the 

patented HSD ® High-Speed Delivery system 

was installed during the scheduled 

annual maintenance shutdown so that revamping 

did not cause any major production 

losses. Parallel to the installation of 

the HSD ® system, the rolling mill was 

modernized and all measures for dismantling 

the old machines and ancillary facilities 

were carried out. 

FAC issued after 

just 10 months 

In spite of the tense delivery situation 

worldwide for plant components, SMS 

Meer succeeded to supply, erect and commission 

the complete facility on schedule, 

just six months after contract signing in 

January 2007. In November 2007, around 

10 months after the signing of the contract, 

Hellenic Halyvourgia officially accepted 

the mill and issued the FAC. 

HSD ® system. 


Innovative CS roll stands 



Hoesch Schwerter Profile: 

revamp of rolling mill for special sections 

New order 

Hoesch Schwerter Profile 

GmbH, a company of the Italian 

Calvi Holding S.r.l., selected 

SMS Meer to modernize 

its rolling mill for special sections. 

The goals of this proj - 

ect are to increase the mill’s 

availability, yield and flexibility 

and to improve the quality 

of the finished products. 

Tailor-made modernization concept. 

The existing roll stands will be replaced 

with modern compact stands. Grip-type 

tilters and centering devices will ensure 

the optimal material entry conditions 

which are indispensable for the rolling of 

special sections. Special investments in 

areas of the continuous finishing line and 

the further processing facilities are also 

essential parts of the entire modernization 

concept. 

Innovative CS roll stands. The special 

sections produced by Hoesch Schwerter 

Profile GmbH are tailored to the needs and 

requirements of the end users and have to 

meet highest standards in terms of precision 

and surface quality. Therefore, the 

customer decided to employ SMS Meer’s 

innovative CS stands (Compact Stands) 

with automatic high-speed stand changing. 

High stand rigidity. The new change 

stands feature maximum rigidity and require 

little maintenance. Offering great 

flexibility, the CS change-stand concept is 

ideally suited for the rolling of special sections. 

The made-to-measure stand solution 

provides for the re-use of existing rolls and 

guides, making the revamp of the specialsection 

mill highly cost-efficient. 

Scope of supply. SMS Meer will supply 

the mechanical and electrical equipment 

as well as the automation for the new CS 

stands, descaling devices and grip-type 

tilters, stand-changing and assembly area 

equipment as well as the required utility 

systems. Training of customer’s personnel 

and supervision of erection and commissioning 

are likewise included in our 

package. 

This revamp measure will help Hoesch 

Schwerter Profile GmbH expand its leading 

position as a producer of special sections 

and strengthen its market position. 

New order 

Jiexiu Xintai Iron & Steel Co., 

based in the Chinese pro v - 

ince of Shanxi, has contracted 

SMS Meer to supply a section 

mill for the rolling of 

beams with web heights between 

200 and 1,000 mm. 

Designed for an annual capacity of 1.2 million 

t, the mill will further increase China’s 

production capacity for parallel-flanged 

beams to meet the high domestic demand. 

Hot commissioning of the mill is 

scheduled for the fall of 2009. 

CS reversing stand during erection. 

SMS Meer supplies eighth section mill to China 

Beam mill for Jiexiu Xintai 

SMS Meer’s supply package includes the 

planning and engineering, the key equipment, 

the training of customer’s personnel 

as well as the supervision of erection and 

commissioning. 

The rolling mill will be equipped with our 

universal stands in CCS ® design (Compact 

Cartridge Stand). The hydraulic adjustment 

control system and the high rigidity 

of the mill stands permit to roll finished 

products with close tolerances. The 9roller 

CRS ® compact roller straightener 

features straightening rollers that are 

mounted in bearings on both sides, hydraulic 

adjustment and automatic straight-

Higher yield and closer length tolerances 

Gerdau Açominas, Brazil: 

expansion of section finishing area 

New order 

Gerdau Açominas of Brazil has placed an order with 

SMS Meer to expand the finishing equipment of its 

Ouro Branco heavy section mill. For extension of the 

existing mechanical equipment, SMS Meer will supply 

a tandem cold saw, two automatic 12-m piling facilities 

as well as wire-tying machines. In addition, 

SMS Meer will be at the head of the consortium for 

the electrical and automation equipment. Brazilian 

company Converteam will also be on board for this. 

Cold saw in operation. 

ening-roller changing, and ensures great 

flexibility along with top straightening results 

at minimum residual stresses. Program 

changing on the mill takes no more 

than 20 minutes. For dividing the rolled 

stock into finished lengths, SMS Meer 

will provide its proven cold saw technique 

which stands out for its low cutting costs. 

This is yet another heavy beam mill employing 

SMS Meer’s patented XH ® universal 

beam rolling method. Since its introduction 

in the early 90s, SMS Meer has 

implemented this economical rolling 

method in as many as 16 new facilities. 

The consortium’s scope of supply also 

includes the supervision of erection and 

commissioning as well as the startup of 

the electrical equipment. The expansion 

concept provides for installation of the new 

equipment while rolling continues. Following 

expansion of the section finishing area, 

the rolling mill’s capacity will go up from 

some 400,000 to 700,000 tpy. Commissioning 

is scheduled for 2009. 

The coming expansion will increase the 

capacity of the finishing equipment which 

was completely exhausted in the past and 

hence represented a bottleneck. This will 

be achieved through installation of a second 

cooling bed and by changing over from 

dividing the sections in hot state to finishdividing 

by means of cold saws. 

Moreover, additional piling, tying and 

loading capacities will be created. After the 

expansion, the only function of the hot 

saws is to pre-divide the material, while 

the new cold saws will be used for finishcutting 

the material into saw layers. This 

will increase the yield and also improve the 

length tolerances of the finished material. 


Wisco, China: rail and section mill 


Just 22 months after order 

award, the new rail and section 

mill of Wuhan Iron & 

Steel (Group) Corporation 

(Wisco), Wuhan, China, has 

successfully entered its hot 

commissioning phase. The 

mill which features proven 

key equipment was supplied 

and installed jointly with the 

customer under the technical 

leadership of SMS Meer. 


Commissioning underway 

Rolling of the first section. Rolling of beams to the XH ® rolling method. 

Commissioning Commissioning began at the end of December 2007 with the 

rolling of rails with a weight of 60 kg/m. In the weeks and months 

thereafter, all the products included in the product mix were, and 

still are, rolled. 

The rolling mill consists of two 2-high reversing stands and one 

universal tandem rolling group with hot saws and one 105-m-long 

and 42-m-wide cooling bed. The mill also incorporates the proven 

CCS ® stands (Compact Cartridge Stands) for automatic high-speed 

changing. The cooling bed is equipped for pre-bending of the rails. 

The horizontal/vertical straightening machine located downstream 

of the cooling bed completes our supplies. 

For rail rolling, the rail and section mill employs the universal rolling 

method. It is able to produce rails up to a length of 100 m with 

close tolerances for use in high-speed railway systems. Wisco is 

now the fourth rail producer in China using technologies and equipment 

made by SMS Meer.

Universal rolling in the compact stand group. 

The mill is able to attain a production 

of 1.05 million tpy, with the product mix 

comprising: 

n 550,000 tpy, various rail types of 38 to 89 kg/m 

n 400,000 tpy, parallel-flanged beams of 175 x 175 to 

600 x 300 (mm x mm) 

n IPN beams of 250 to 500 mm 

n Channels of 250 x 80 to 400 x 104 (mm x mm) 

n Angles of 33 to 71 kg/m 

n Piling sections 

n Mining sections 

n Bulb flats 

Horizontal /vertical straightening 

machine in a production plant. 

Horizontal straightener 

in the shop. 

Pre-bending of rails on the cooling bed. 


SMS MEER GMBH 

Long Products 

Ohlerkirchweg 66 

41069 Mönchengladbach, Germany 

P.O. Box 100645 

41006 Mönchengladbach, Germany 

Phone: +49 (0) 2161 350-0 

Fax: +49 (0) 2161 350-1754 

info@sms-meer.com 

www.sms-meer.com 

MEETING your EXPECTATIONS 

SMS MEER S.P.A. 

Long Products 

Via Udine, 103 

33017 Tarcento (Udine), Italy 

Phone: +39 (0) 432 799 111 

Fax: +49 (0) 432 784 556 

info@sms-meer.it 

www.sms-meer.com 

“The information provided in this brochure contains a general description of the performance characteristics of the products concerned. The actual products may not always have 

these characteristics as described and, in particular, these may change as a result of further developments of the products. The provision of this information is not intended to have 

and will not have legal effect. An obligation to deliver products having particular characteristics shall only exist if expressly agreed in the terms of the contract.” 

500/03/11 . Ky . Printed in Germany

LONG PRODUCTS BULLETIN - SMS Meer GmbH

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