Qingdao Iron and Steel of Qingdao in Shandong Province in China has placed an order with SMS for a 700kt capacity special bar quality rolling mill.

The Chinese steelmaker plans to expand its product portfolio to include high-quality special steels for use in the automotive industry.

Liu Tieniu, deputy general manager at Qingdao Iron and Steel, said the new mill will enable the company to enhance its leading market position ‘even further’.

SMS is supplying Qingdao’s core technology for the new plant, including a 3-block precision sizing mill capable of rolling all finished dimensions from 16 to 90mm in diameter.

According to SMS, ‘thanks to its system of hydraulic adjustment under load, all dimensions can be produced cost-efficiently on the basis of customers’ individual requirements, including even small batch sizes’.

Commissioning is scheduled for Q3 2015.