October 12, 2008

CSP® plant at Nucor Hickman to boost production

Nucor Corp USA announced that it has awarded SMS Demag a contract for the modernization of the finishing mill at its CSP® plant at Hickman in Arkansas. The modernization of the finishing mill will be completed in the summer of 2008.

The scope of supply includes the replacement of the drive trains on mill stands F1 and F2 as well as the modification of these stands to allow the accommodation of larger work rolls.

The background of this modernization project is Nucor's plan to boost production, for which the slab thickness will be raised by around 5 mm. To be able to roll the thicker slabs to the required final strip thickness, mill stands F1 and F2 need to yield higher thickness reductions. To accomplish this, the work roll diameters will be increased. Revamping of the stands will include all modifications needed to accommodate the larger work rolls as well as the installation of new CVC® blocks with more powerful bending cylinders to optimize the adjusting range for work roll bending.

The necessary rise in torques is provided by changing the gear ratio. In addition to the installation of new main gear units, SMS Demag will replace the intermediate couplings, mill pinion gears and Sieflex® gear spindles in the drive trains.