Metinvest completed the installation of a new hydraulic coiler for heavy coil production at its Ilyish Iron and Steel Works site in Mariupol.
The addition completes the implementation of the 1700 Mill upgrade that increased annual rolled coil capacity to 2.5mn mt from 1.3mn mt in 2019. Of the total annual production, 1.5mn mt is slated to be freely available in the market. The strategic plan seeks to boost the company’s competitiveness in rolled coils including cold-rolled and galvanized steel products.
The coiler produces 32-ton hot rolled coils (HRC) with thicknesses ranging from 1.2-16mm and width up to 1,550mm. This is the first domestic commercial production of HRC with greater than 8mm dimensions in Ukraine.
Heavy HRC can be an alternative to the more expensive rolled plate. Europe and the Middle East are the primary target export markets, but Turkish consumers are also showing interest, Metinvest said in a media statement on Feb 24.
Premium slabs are supplied to the 1700 Mill from the continuous casting machine at the plant’s EAF. Slabs are heated and rolled in the roughing mill and coiled in the coil box. The mill was restarted in H2 2019 with the announcement of a $110mn modernization plan. The hydraulic coiler was installed in the mills in late 2020 but the final supporting infrastructure was recently completed.