ThyssenKrupp Nirosta GmbH inaugurated a new cold rolling mill on 2 July 2004. The EUR 30 million mill completes a programme of investment worth more than EUR 170 million in cold strip technology at the company’s site in Krefeld, Germany. Previously, ThyssenKrupp Nirosta had spent EUR 86 million on a new finishing shop in Krefeld, which went into operation in 2002, and EUR 56 million on an annealing and pickling line, which started production last year. The new cold rolling mill will supply some 110,000 metric tons of cold strip a year to the new annealing and pickling line. The 20-high mill can reduce stainless steel strip in widths up to 1350mm to thicknesses of 0.2 to 2.5 mm. The maximum rolling speed is 800 metres per minute. Coils of up to 30 metric tons can be processed. ThyssenKrupp Nirosta contracted Sundwig GmbH, part of the Austrian Andritz group, to build the mill. All electrical equipment was supplied by ABB. The mill, of four-column design, is ideal for the production of high-grade stainless steel products in light gauges. Roll bending, intermediate roll shifting and automatic pass line adjustment systems ensure optimum strip flatness. With tolerances of max. 0.7%, strip thickness is also controlled to high precision.
