Global industrial engineering group, Fives and Shanghai STAL Precision Stainless Steel have signed a contract for the design, manufacturing and supply of a 20Hi cold rolling mill for the latter’s new stainless steel line in Shanghai’s Xin-Zhuang industrial zone in China.
STAL, a joint venture between Allegheny Ludlum of the USA and China’s Baosteel Group Corporation, specialises in the manufacture of precision-rolled stainless strips and is aiming to increase its current capacity. The steelmaker has decided to build a new cold rolling workshop, including a new bright annealing line and 20Hi cold rolling mill, to be commissioned in 2017.
The 20Hi cold rolling mill will boast a production capacity of just over 80,000 metric tons per year. From input strip 1.5mm thick it will be able to roll strip down to 0.040mm. Maximum strip width is 1,250mm, and it will be able to produce at the minimum thickness on the full width.
Terminal equipment for the mill will be produced locally by Fives’ subsidiary in China.
According to Fives, a mill that combines ultra-thickness and a full width is currently unique in the world. The new line and mill will produce ultra-thin stainless steel for high-end applications, such as smartphones and tablet computers.
As a specialist in cold rolling mill design – Fives describes itself as a technological pioneer in the field – it supplied Shanghai STAL with its first 20Hi cold rolling mill (at its Huajin Plant) in 2006.