Schedule

8–12 March 2026 • Hilton Indianapolis Hotel & Suites • Indianapolis, IN, USA

Sunday, 8 March 2026

4–6 p.m.Registration
5–6 p.m.Reception

Monday, 9 March 2026

7 a.m. 

Registration and Breakfast

8 a.m. 

Introductions and Opening Remarks
Brian Smith, ANDRITZ Metals USA Inc.

8:20 a.m.

Overview of Cold Rolling
John Speer, Colorado School of Mines

9:10 a.m.

Break

9:25 a.m.

Cold Rolling Fundamentals
John Speer, Colorado School of Mines

10:10 a.m.

Break

10:30 a.m.

Rolling Mill Designs

11:10 a.m.

Line Arrangements

Noon

Lunch

1 p.m.

Mill Terminal and Auxiliary

1:50 p.m.

Break

2:05 p.m.

Mill Measurement Instrumentation
Brian Smith, ANDRITZ Metals USA Inc.

2:50 p.m. 

Motors and Drives Upgrades

3:35 p.m.

Break

3:50 p.m.

Hot Band Characteristics That Influence Cold Rolling

4:35 p.m.

Packaging of Coils and Sheets

4:55 p.m. 

End-of-Day Wrap-Up and Adjourn

Tuesday, 10 March 2026

7 a.m.

Breakfast

7:55 a.m.

Introductions and Opening Remarks

8 a.m.

Rolling Mill Chatter and Vibration
Robert D. Miller, IVC Technologies
This presentation covers both fundamentals and more advanced facets of rolling mill chatter and vibration. It is meant to provide practical takeaways for attendees regardless of experience, with real-world examples and data.

8:50 a.m.Break

9:10 a.m.

Bearing Usage in Mill Stands: Understanding Premature Damage and Drivers for Unplanned Downtime
Mike Allega, The Timken Co.
Increased bearing usage in rolling mill stands is a leading indicator of maintenance issues with how the rolls are mounted in the mill stand or bearings are maintained. This presentation covers mill operation and maintenance-related topics that lead to increased bearing usage with a goal to improve root-cause analysis and reduce bearing consumption.

9:40 a.m.

Roll Shop Practices: What Do Roll Shops Do for Your Mill? 

10 a.m.

Break

10:20 a.m.

Cold Mill Defects and Quality
Katie Behrendt, Nucor Steel–Arkansas

11:10 a.m.

Cold Mill Rolls: Manufacture, Types and Common Failures
John Ballani, Rolls & Technical Service LLC
The presentation will review the various types of manufacturing methods, roll grades and common failures associated with the rolling operations. 

Noon

Lunch

1 p.m.

Sources of Mill Stand and Roll Neck Bearing Damage

1:30 p.m.

Cold Rolling Theory Basics

2:30 p.m.

Break

2:50 p.m.

Cold Rolling Lubrication Fundamentals
Brad Wellensiek, Quaker Houghton

3:50 p.m.

Break

4:10 p.m.

Mill Roundtable 

4:55 p.m.

End-of-Day Wrap-Up and Adjourn

5 p.m. 

Reception

Wednesday, 11 March 2026

7 a.m.

Breakfast

7:55 a.m.Introductions and Opening Remarks

8 a.m.

Automatic Gauge Control (AGC) Basics
Brian Braho, Braho Machinery LLC
This presentation will provide an overview of automatic gauge control, including a description of the feedback control loop along with a discussion of common sources of error. Other topics included will be feedforward corrections, single- and multi stand control diagrams, and thread-to-run sequences.

9:15 a.m.

Break

9:35 a.m.

Flatness Measurement and Control

10:50 a.m.

Break

11:10 a.m.

Key Technologies for Cold Rolling Advanced High-Strength and Electrical Steels

Noon

Lunch

1 p.m.

Rolling Solution System and Maintenance
Brad Wellensiek, Quaker Houghton

1:30 p.m.

Strip Drying

2 p.m.

Break

2:15 p.m.

The Importance of Mill Alignment

3:20 p.m. 

Break

3:35 p.m.

Cold Mill — What Have You Learned?

4:35 p.m.

Roundtable Discussion

5 p.m.

End-of-Day Wrap-Up and Adjourn

Thursday, 12 March 2026

7 a.m.

Breakfast

8 a.m.

Plant Tour of Steel Dynamics Inc. – Flat Roll Group Heartland Division

Noon

Return From Plant Tour and Conference Adjourn