Gerdau Aços Especiais Piratini, Brazil, has started up a new Danieli Centro Maskin automatic bar straightening, inspection and conditioning line at the company’s specialty steel plant in Charqueadas.

The line is made up of an RLL 160 two-roll straightener plus chamfering, cutting and handling equipment. It has a 160,000 tonne/year nominal productivity (based on a two daily shifts) and is designed to process 50- to 105-mm diameter, 3- to 12-meter long bars in engineering steels with up to 1100 N/mm2 yield strength. The mill has a maximum production rolling speed of 70 meter/minute.

The company has successfully operated two similar Danieli Centro Maskin plants at the Aços Finos Piratini facility since 1997 and 1998, respectively.