China’s Zenith Steel Group plans to increase its wire rod mill production speed at the Changzhou steelworks to produce a wider range of products, including round bars.
Germany equipment manufacturer SMS Group will install various new machines at the mill including combined and rotary shears, a three-roll Precision Sizing Mill, and a new pouring reel. With the new equipment, Zenith will be able to roll smaller products at speeds up to 42m/s, making it the fastest rolling mill in the world.
The pouring reel will also expand the company’s bar-in-coil diameter range for 16-42.5mm coils and later to 50mm. It will also produce heavy compact coils up to 2.3mt for automotive use.
The plant currently produces 780,000mt of steel wire rods per year with diameters ranging from 11.5-26.5mm.