In June 2009 industrial production in the endless mode commenced at the new Arvedi Endless Strip Production line at Cremona in Italy. For the first time ever, hot rolled coils can now be commercially produced in a thin slab casting & rolling plant directly from liquid steel in a continuous and uninterrupted manufacturing process.

This plant, based on Arvedi technology and implemented by Siemens VAI Metals Technologies, allows the thermal energy of liquid steel to be fully exploited. Thin gauge strip is produced in better quality and at lower costs compared to alternative processes. ARVEDI ESP represents an important breakthrough in steelmaking for the manufacture of hot rolled quality thin gauge coils in economic and industrial terms.

On September 12^th 2006, the Italian steel producer Arvedi and Siemens VAI established a 50:50 JV company Cremona Engineering srl for the development and design of the new plant and which will also market this technology on a worldwide basis in the future.

ARVEDI ESP and the relative patents belong to the wider complex defined as Arvedi Steel Technology and is protected by over 20 patents in the most important industrial countries for full protection of the company's intellectual property rights.

Acciaieria Arvedi successfully and profitably operates a steel plant in Cremona with the ISP (Inline Strip Production) process. On the basis of this technology Arvedi has developed a new process in which the cast thin slabs will be immediately rolled to strip and coiled in a continuous endless process. The new single line plant of this new process, called ARVEDI ESP will have a capacity of over 2 million tonnes of rolled steel per year and will serve as the reference plant for future sales.

Good reasons for Arvedi ESP

1. Economical production of hot rolled thin strip, substituting cold rolled strip for many applications

2. Significant cost savings due to the short ESP line lengthand direct linkage of casting and rolling

3. Production of high quality coils with uniform mechanical properties

4. Fully integrated production facility incorporating advanced technological packages for overall plant reliability, superior products and a high line output

5. Environmentally friendly due to lower energy consumption and fewer emissions

6. The most compact process respecting the metallurgical transformation principle based on the cast rolling concept

This new casting rolling facility represents the world's most compact line for the production of hot rolled strip. The line has an overall length of only 190 meters, which is less than one half of the length of a typical hot strip mill without casting and storage facilities. The new generation of ESP thin slab casting & endless rolling lines is composed of four main plant sections in addition to infrastructural and auxiliary facilities.

The first section consists of a thin-slab caster featuring liquid core reduction followed by rolling in a linked 3 stand, 4 high mill positioned at the exit of the continuous caster.

In the second section, the temperature of the intermediate strip is heated in an induction heater in order to meet finishing rolling requirements.

The third section, composed of a 5 stand, 4 high finishing mill and cooling line, is designed to allow the strip to be rolled to thicknesses between 0.6mm and 12mm at strip widths up to a maximum of 1,570 mm.

The fourth section consists of a high speed flying shear and three down coilers.

The nominal capacity of the new production facility will exceed 2 million tonnes of hot rolled coils per year. Strip can be produced in widths of up to 1,600mm and at thicknesses down to 0.8mm. The thin and ultra thin gauges can be immediately used in numerous downstream applications. All standard carbon steel grades can be rolled, in addition to HSLA and multi phase steel grades. Products from the Arvedi ESP line are suitable for use in the automotive, appliance and building industries, as well as for the production of tubes, profiles, machinery and mechanical equipment. Due to endless rolling operations, the production of strip with uniform and repeatable mechanical properties will be possible along the entire strip width and length.

Due to the endless strip production mode, repeated threading into the individual rolling stands is no longer necessary. This is the basis for the production of ultra-thin gauges in ESP lines. Furthermore, tolerance values are fully met along the entire length of the rolled strip and the produced steel is characterized by its high surface quality and homogeneous structure. The strip is under continuous tension, eliminating the danger of cobbling due to high speeds and insufficient strip-head stability. Overall yield is maximized because cropping of the strip head and tail ends is no longer necessary. Strip cutting is carried out just before the down coilers.

The Arvedi ESP line is equipped with a broad range of advanced technological features and systems. These include technological packages such as liquid-core reduction and DynaGap SoftReduction to ensure best internal strand quality. The caster is directly connected to a 3-stand high-reduction mill, equipped with automatic gauge control and profile control. On the basis of the individual control set points, the transfer strip is thermally equalized in the induction heater with flexible heating up to temperatures in a range from 1,100°C to 1,200°C. Three of the finishing mill stands are equipped with SmartCrown rolls to ensure a high degree of strip flatness. AGC and other control features are installed in all mill stands. After exiting the final rolling stand, the strip is cooled by a laminar cooling system which allows the mechanical properties of the strip to be adjusted as required. After cutting the strip by means of a high speed shear, the strip is coiled in one of the three down coiler units. The individual coils can have a weight of up to 32 tonnes.

The entire line is controlled by completely integrated Level 1 and Level 2 automation systems, which fully regulate all casting and rolling operations. This is complemented by a plant wide quality control system, which assures that the required quality standards are met.

Worldwide demand for steel is set to grow 25% by the year 2015 according to current forecasts. Improved plant performances not only need to satisfy steel requirements but also conform to environmental laws and the targets of the Kyoto Protocol. Arvedi ESP meets these requirements by operating with lower power requirements and producing fewer emissions than comparable plants. Energy requirements are significantly reduced compared with conventional lines. Online energy measurements have shown a 45% reduction in the energy consumption compared to conventional casting and rolling processes, creating additional value for producers. Less energy requirements also means a major reduction in CO2 emissions.

The development of CO2 emissions since 1991 in relation to the targets of the Kyoto Protocol Source: BMWA, BP - Calculated based on primary energy consumption (BP Statistical Review of World Energy)

Direct processing costs are characterized by lower energy consumption about 40% less compared with conventional hot strip mills.