International technology group Andritz has received orders from the Brazilian steel group Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais SA for the supply of a continuous pickling line with acid regeneration for hot rolled carbon steel for its plant in Cubatao as well as for a recoiling and inspection line for hot dip galvanized steel strip for Unigal, a JV company between Usiminas (70%) and Nippon Steel (30%). The total order value is nearly EUR 60 million.

The continuous pickling line will have a capacity of 1.7 million tonnes per year and will process coils with strip thicknesses from 1.2 mm to 6.5 mm, at a maximum strip width of 1,800 mm. The acid regeneration plant, which will reprocess the hydrochloric acid used in the pickling process, is based on fluidized bed technology and designed to treat 12,000 liter per hour of waste acid.

The state of the art technologies supplied by Andritz comply with the high-quality demands of Usiminas and fulfill national and international environmental standards. Start of production is scheduled after 24 months.

The recoiling and inspection line for Unigal's Ipatinga mill is designed for an annual capacity of 240,000 tonnes and will process coils with strip thicknesses from 0.39 mm to 3.2 mm, at a maximum strip width of 1,860 mm. At this plant, high quality material for the automotive industry will be edge trimmed, inspected and configured to the corresponding coil weight. Start of production is scheduled after 19 months.