At the Hmisho Trading Group in Syria, SMS Meer has modernised the existing rebar mill with an Ebros billet welding system for endless rolling of sections, leading to a significant increase in the plant capacity.
The overall annual production has been increased by 5% as a result of this modernisation. A further benefit is that the metal yield is improved by 1.5% through a reduction in the crop-end losses and the number of short bars.
Added to this are the significant savings in labour, thanks to the reduction of cobbles and the transport of non-conformant products.
The Ebros system was developed under license from Steel Plantech of Japan, and is based on the welding technology employed in the construction of tracks for high-speed trains.
The technology has now been transferred to steelworks. The billet welding system is used to weld together the hot billets (at 1100ºC) as they come out of the reheat furnace.
This process makes ‘endless rolling’ possible, offering a considerable increase in productivity, material yield and plant utilisation as well as guaranteeing a consistently high product quality.
At Hmisho, square billets of 130mm x 130mm and 12m in length are welded to give a yield of 60t per hour.
The complete rebar mill with HSD (High-Speed Delivery) system at Hmisho was supplied in 2007 by SMS Meer. The annual capacity is 350kt. The Hmisho plant is the fourth mill to be supplied to Syria by SMS Meer.
