• Henan Yirui sign the final acceptance certificate for the new four-stand aluminum hot finishing mill
• The existing hot rolling mill was successfully converted into a tandem finishing mill by adding three new finishing mill stands
• The new finishing mill can produce trimmed strip up to 2,150 millimeters wide

Henan Yirui New Materials Technology Co., Ltd., China, officially took over the new aluminum hot rolling mill from SMS group and put it into production. This final project milestone was sealed by issuing the FAC to SMS, after the new aluminum hot rolling mill was installed and commissioned very successfully and to the full satisfaction of Henan Yirui. Production started two months earlier than originally planned.

The new hot strip mill is the centerpiece of a strategic expansion project that Henan Yirui, a subsidiary of the Henan Mingtai group, implemented at its site near the city of Gongyi, Henan Province, China. Henan Yirui relied on the expertise and experience of SMS, built up over many successful reference projects in the aluminum industry.

The new mill is a solution developed by SMS for refurbishing and integrating components from an existing hot rolling mill, consisting of a reversing roughing mill and a single-stand reversing finishing mill, in a 1+4 tandem configuration. In addition to the reversing roughing mill, Henan Yirui now has a four-stand finishing mill at its disposal.

SMS supplied the mechanical equipment, fluid systems, and the X-Pact^® electrical equipment and process automation. All three new finishing mill stands feature cutting-edge CVC^® technology for superior strip quality. The mill exit area includes an innovatively designed side-trimming shear, a down coiler unit, and an offline strip surface inspection station. The new hot strip mill can produce trimmed strip up to 2,150 millimeters wide.

“Installation and commissioning times were significantly shortened thanks to the superior  technology and the outstanding efforts, dedication and commitment of Henan Yirui and SMS group. The seamless integration of the secondhand equipment into the process automation of a highly advanced four-stand tandem mill was a challenge. SMS group’s solution to incorporate the roughing mill smoothly into the X-Pact^® Pass Schedule Calculation (PSC^®) system supplied for the new finishing tandem mill was impressive.” Liu Jie, General Manager of Henan Mingtai Aluminium.

“Throughout the project it has always been a real pleasure to work with such highly motivated and dedicated project teams from both parties. The flat decision-making hierarchy on the customer side was also very helpful.” Rüdiger Roger Wiechmann, Project Manager at SMS group.