Feralpi Siderurgica S.p.A. has placed an order with SMS group for the supply and installation of the EBROS welding technology at its Lonato plant in Brescia, Italy.

The EBROS billet welding system is used to weld together the hot billets as they come out of the reheating furnace. This process makes ‘endless rolling’ possible, offering a considerable increase in produc-tivity, material yield and plant utilization as well as guaranteeing a consistently high product quality.

Implementing EBROS in the existing wire rod mill, may increase Feralpi´s plant productivity by up to approximately eight percent. Furthermore, cobbles, and head and tail end cropping can be eliminated improving the product yield by at least three percent.

The latest system, which comes with an advanced transformer solution to yet better control the welding operations, includes an easier cleaning system, reduces maintenance and sparks and provides efficient deburring with a collecting bucket and a quick change system. A two-megawatt induction furnace supplied by SMS Elotherm, a company of the SMS group, will be included in the supply to ensure billet temperature equalization at the entry into stand No. 1 in order to keep the rolling temperatures within the correct range and enhance final product tolerances.

The machine will exploit the furnace capacity of 130 tons per hour and weld billets up to 150 millimeters square and 12 meters length to be rolled on the existing mill.

Commissioning of this plant is scheduled for the first quarter of 2020.

This latest order sets the score to ten EBROS units supplied by SMS group worldwide, and it further underlines SMS group´s expertise and position as a leading partner in the world of metals – having installed already 543 rolling mills for wire rod, SBQ and special applications, bars and merchant products since 1950.