Chinese steelmaker Anhui Xuanli Steel Group has awarded SMS group a contract to supply equipment for a new heavy plate mill in Tongling, Anhui Province, with annual production capacity of 2 mln tons. The facility is scheduled to start operations in 2028.
The project includes a five-meter plate finishing stand, a trimming shear and a slitting shear. SMS group said the finishing stand will feature the highest rolling force of any plant of its kind designed and built by the company, supporting Xuanli Steel’s plans to expand its product range and strengthen its position in the heavy plate market.
The mill will produce plates with widths ranging from 1,300 to 4,900 mm and thicknesses of 5-300 mm. Its equipment will allow double-width plates to be rolled and subsequently slit into narrower plates, improving productivity and finished-edge quality.
The finishing stand will feature hydraulic gap control and CVC plus technology for precise control of plate thickness profile and flatness. The mill will also be equipped with SMS group’s X-Pact automation systems and process models to optimize rolling schedules, plate geometry, furnace discharge timing and production sequences.
Anhui Xuanli Steel is a Chinese integrated steel producer established in 2009 and based in Tongling, Anhui Province. The company combines ironmaking, steelmaking and rolling operations, with a focus on special steels. The company has nominal crude steel production capacity of 2.7 mln tons per year and ironmaking capacity of 1.04 mln tons per year. Its product range includes plates and rolled bar products.