Middle East and Africa's metals & mining industry saw a rise of 16.7% in overall deal activity during Q2 2020, when compared to the four-quarter average, according to GlobalData's deals database.
Trials using fossil-free fuels in LKAB’s pellet plant have produced successful results within the framework of the HYBRIT initiative. The world’s very first fossil-free iron ore pellets are within touching distance. SSAB, LKAB and Vattenfall intend to be the first in the world with a value chain for fossil-free steel.
In its Oinofyta plant near Athens, Greece, ElvalHalcor S.A. has successfully rolled the first aluminum hot strip coil on its new finishing mill supplied by SMS group (www.sms-group.com). The new, four-stand finishing mill was installed downstream an existing reversing mill. With the new plant, ElvalHalcor S.A can produce hot-rolled aluminum strip in thicknesses from 1.8 to 12.7 millimeters and up to a width of 2.6 meters for a wide range of industrial applications.
In May 2020, Primetals Technologies received the final acceptance certificates (FAC) for a fully automatic dummy bar top feeding system for the CC3 two-strand continuous caster of Baoshan Iron and Steel Co Ltd. (Baosteel) at Steelworks No. 1 in Shanghai. With the new solution the operator starts the fully automatic insertion of a dummy bar into the mold and the fully automatic takeover from hoist to car each by pushing only one button.
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On June 18, 2020, Shanxi Taigang Stainless Steel Co., Ltd. placed an order with SMS group (www.sms-group.com) for the supply of a 4.3-meter heavy-plate mill. The company is located in Taiyuan, capital of the Chinese province of Shanxi.
The heart of the new heavy-plate production plant will be a mill stand group consisting of a four-high rolling mill with attached edger.
Wuhan Iron & Steel, based in Wuhan, China, has granted SMS group the final acceptance after the successful modernization of finishing stands F4 and F7 in their High-Capacity Hot Strip Mill No. 2. The objective of the project was to increase plant availability.
With the successful commissioning of the third copper cold rolling mill at Jintian Ningbo Copper Co., Ltd. in the Chinese province of Jiangsu by SMS group (www.sms-group.com), Jintian Ningbo Copper now has all process stages at disposal that are needed for the production of copper and copper alloy cold strip.
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A change of bearing type on the carousel of a casting line, coupled with a small recommended design change, has led to savings of €100,095 per annum at a leading manufacturer of gas turbine blades after it began experiencing bearing failures every six weeks.
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Primetals Technologies has received the final acceptance certificate (FAC) for the 3800mm PM automation systems and services from Minmetals Yingkou Medium Plate Co., Ltd. For the 3800mm PM project Minmetals Yingkou installed a two-stand thick plate mill, which can produce 1.5 million tons per year of steel plates with the thicknesses of 6 to 100 mm and widths between 1,400 mm and 3,600 mm.
In late March, Japanese steel producer Tokyo Steel Co., Ltd. (Tokyo Steel) placed an order with Primetals Technologies to revamp a continuous pickling line of hot rolled strip at the company ́s production plant in Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture, Japan. The project includes the addition of a tension leveler type scale breaker and the installation of an iBox pickling tank with acid concentration control. The revamp will increase productivity for difficult-to-descale materials while reducing energy and acid consumption. The modernization project is expected to be finished in October 2021.
The first strip was successfully rolled on the tandem cold mill TCM “2100” at PAO Severstal in Cherepovets, northwest Russia, after the successful mill modernization performed by SMS group. After SMS group had comprehensively modernized the entry area in 2016, including the rolling stands and the automation system (Phase 1), the recent measures concentrated on the exit area and the stand drives.
Stupp Corporation has awarded SMS group the contract to extend the spiral pipe mill at its site in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in the United States. The contract consists of two projects: a partial revamp of the spiral pipe machine to increase pipe production capacity, and a new submerged arc re-welding stand to complement the existing three welding stands. The plant’s modifications will go into operation end of 2020.