ArcelorMittal Vega, Brazil, has awarded SMS group the order to expand the flat rolling mill complex in São Francisco do Sul, Brazil, supplied by SMS group in 2003. With this project, the company intends to boost the mill’s capacity by 640,000 tons annually and add ultra-high-strength steel strip for the automotive industry to its portfolio. To this end, the existing pickling line/tandem cold mill will be modified, and a new universal annealing and hot-dip galvanizing line as well as a new recoiling and inspection line will be integrated into the facility. Commissioning of the new and modified lines is scheduled for 2023. 

SMS group will supply the mechanical and process-technological equipment and supervise the installation and commissioning activities. Part of the equipment will be integrated into existing facilities and systems.

The pickling line/tandem cold mill supplied by SMS in 2003 underwent its first expansion in 2010, also by SMS. Now, the tandem mill is going to receive a fifth stand, which will be integrated directly ahead of the existing cold mill. Thanks to the additional roll stand, it will become possible to roll strip of a maximum initial thickness of 6.0 millimeters. Currently, the maximum initial thickness is 4.8 millimeters. In addition, a maximum rolling speed 1,300 meters per minute will be achievable on the new mill, and specific mechanical equipment will be added or modified in order to be able to handle the expanded product range and the higher production. This will include the integration of a new coil preparation line and a flying shear. All these measures will raise the mill’s annual capacity by 640,000 tons to 2,150,000 tons.

The additional 640,000 tons-per-year produced will be refined in the new universal annealing and hot-dip galvanizing line mainly into high-strength steel grades for automotive structural components. Reliable production of high- and ultra-high-strength steels will be ensured by a high-performance annealing furnace from SMS group company Drever International. The furnace will achieve very high cooling rates, thanks to its innovative UFC_plus rapid gas-cooling system, for example. A FOEN air-knife system will assure precise attainment of the specified zinc layer thickness. Both zinc and zinc-magnesium coatings will be possible. The line concept also provides for an “anneal only” option.

For further treatment of the strip, the line will include a skin-pass mill, a stretch-leveler, a horizontal roll coater, a recoiling and inspection line with an integrated side trimmer, an inspection station and an oiling machine.

The line will process strip in thicknesses from 0.4 to 3.0 millimeters and widths between 750 and 1,875 millimeters.

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