Siemens VAI Metals Technologies has received an order from Shougang Tonghua Iron & Steel Co. to supply equipment to modernize the bar mill in Tonghua.

The project will also optimize the entry of the cooling bed of the bar production and the Garrett reel in the bar in coil production. This is intended to reduce wear on the work pieces considerably, and to improve the quality of the final products. Completion of the modernization is scheduled for mid 2012.

The original bar and bar in coil mill was installed by Siemens in 2006 in Beijing area, and will be relocated to Tonghua in the Jilin province. With an annual capacity of 600,000 tonnes of straight and coiled quality steel bars, it can produce bar stock with diameters from 14mm to 80mm and coiled bar with diameters from 14mm to 50mm.

For the cooling bed of the bar mill, Siemens is engineering a new entry section. This is intended to minimize wear on the surface of the bars in this section. The bar mill is also to have two new saws for cutting the steel bars to size. Coils are formed in the bar-in-coil mill using two Garrett reels. Each of these will be equipped with a new pre-bending device in order to invert the coiling direction and to further reduce the mechanical load on the bar during coiling. Siemens will also supply the associated basic automation for both plant sections and a mechatronics package for sawing and will support Shougang Tonghua with the installation and commissioning.

Shougang Tonghua is part of the Shougang Group, one of China’s leading steel producers.