Primetals Technologies Receives Final Acceptance for Modernized Rolling Mill at JSW Steel

- Maximum size of the processable blooms was increased to 220 mm
- Size and grade ranges of rolled products were extended
- Quality was improved, with fewer defects and higher metallic yield

Recently, Primetals Technologies, a Metal-Expo regular exhibitor, received the Final Acceptance Certificate (FAC) for the modernized rolling mill for long products at JSW Steel Ltd. in Salem, India. The core of the modernization project was the new reversing roughing group with Red Ring stands, which enables to increase the size of the blooms to be processed to 220 mm. This consequently enables to extend the range of rolled products, both in terms of size and grade. With a high rigidity, the Red Ring stands also improve the rolling quality, with consequent reduction of defects and increase of metallic yield.

JSW Steel is one of the largest steel producers and exporters in India, as well as the Indian producer with the largest installed capacity for long products. The Salem facility of JSW Steel hosts the largest Indian integrated-route steel plant for alloy and special steels. Salem works produce blooms, billets, cast iron and rolled long products in more than 850 special grades of steel, with dimensions ranging between 5.5 and 240 mm. Strategically located in the state of Tamil Nadu, the plant caters to the automotive factories of southern India, where the rolled products are used for the manufacture of components like drive shafts, gears, bearings, suspensions, crank shafts, cam shafts, etc.

The new reversing roughing group consists of one horizontal and one sliding vertical Red Ring stand of the fourth generation. Using blooms with 8 meter length and square size of 160 or 220 mm, a reversing sequence with up to 10 passes rolls a 104 x 112 mm intermediate product which feeds the existing finishing train. The processed grades consist of special steels for mechanical construction, tool, spring and bearing applications.

In addition to the roughing group, Primetals Technologies supplied its mechanization, the guide systems, a hydraulically-operated shear for cropping after the roughing group, a convertible dividing shear after the existing finishing train, the level 1 automation with mechatronic packages as well as consulting services for the installation and commissioning.

Red Ring is a registered trademark of Primetals Technologies in certain countries.