Slovenian steelmaker Acroni has commissioned a new 2.6-m X-Roll heavy-plate mill stand from SMS Innse, Italy, and a new roller-type quench supplied by Drever International, Belgium, two subsidiaries of SMS Siemag as part of modernising its heavy-plate mill.
Acroni, a company of the Slovenian Steel Group (SIJ), is a highly specialised niche supplier with a focus on plates and strips of stainless steel grades, tool steels, abrasion-resistant steels and HSLA grades. To extend the product range, especially in the field of thin and wide plates, and to improve plate quality, Acroni has invested in a new heavy-plate mill stand and a new quench from SMS Siemag for its Jesenice (Slovenia) works.
The supply scope of Drever International comprised the supply and installation of the quenching unit, a new pump station, the piping and the adaption of the electrical and automation systems. The installation of the roller-type quench and of the new heavy-plate stand took place at the same time. To keep the shutdown period as short as possible, Drever used pre-manufactured and pre-tested modules. The mill stand was pre-assembled and tested in the SMS Siemag workshop in Germany.
The new 2.6-m X-Roll heavy-plate stand has a rolling force of 60 MN and is equipped with hydraulic adjusting systems and heavy-duty work-roll bending systems. The new quench is designed for up to 2,560mm-wide heavy plates and replaces a 2,000 mm-wide cooling unit, which will enable Acroni to extend its product portfolio in the range of Duplex stainless grades.
