Danieli & C. S.p.A. (Buttrio, Italy):

Zambon E., Product Manager, e-mail: e.zambon@germany.danieli.com
Bulfone M. R., Vice President of Danieli Wean United

Steckel heavy plate mills have more than 100 years of operating history, but they are still actual owing to their universal features and flexibility. Operation of wide plate Steckel mills at SSAB and Jiang Yin Xingcheng is observed in the paper. These companies use more wide slabs and adapt them to the technological process, thereby provide achieving annual productivity more than 1 mln. t of coils of sheet with thickness less in average by 50 % in comparison with conventional heavy plate mills. At the same time they are more compact and are suitable to process not only carbon, but also high-strength, stainless, electrotechnical and tool steels. Usual slabs of own production or delivered by other works can be also rolled on such Steckel mills, ensuring to realize the strategy “Make or Buy”, with cutting the primary investments. Usage of the hot charging technology makes it possible to save electric power by 30–40%. These projects of Danieli have confirmed once more its efficient multi-year experience of modernization strategy in the field of expanding production facilities, power efficiency and environment protection.