June 2006 — Jiuquan Iron & Steel Group Co. Ltd. (Jisco), P.R. China, recently produced the first hot strip coils on its new SMS Demag CSP^® plant.

The Jisco CSP plant comprises two thin-slab casters with downstream soaking furnaces, a six-stand finishing mill with laminar cooling section, coiler and coil removal equipment. The company had ordered the CSP facility in 2004 as part of the technological modernization of the steelworks, the continuous casting operations and the rolling mill as well as the re-alignment of the product range. Designed for an annual capacity of over two million tonnes of hot strip, the plant is able to produce strips in widths of 950 to 1,680 mm and thicknesses of 1.0 to 12.7 mm.

SMS Demag’s scope of supply had comprised the entire facility, including the electrical systems, drive engineering and all automation systems. Hot commissioning is scheduled for completion in October 2006.

Jisco’s CSP plant started up with a very short commissioning period, which was made possible by SMS Demag’s "Plug & Work“ concept. Plug & Work had already enabled the plant functions and the dynamic behavior to be displayed by means of a simulation computer, along with the testing and preliminary optimization of the complete automation system, with all control cabinets and control desks, for subsequent local implementation at the site. The CSP facility was thus able to commence production without problems after only a few commissioning tests.

SMS Demag AG forms part of the Metallurgical Plant and Rolling Mill Technology Business Area of the SMS group. SMS GmbH is the holding for a group of companies internationally active in plant construction and mechanical engineering relating to the processing of steel, non-ferrous metals and plastics. The group is divided into the Business Areas of Metallurgical Plant and Rolling Mill Technology, Tube, Long Product and Forging Technology and Plastics Technology. In the year 2005 some 9,250 employees worldwide generated a turnover of about EUR 2.33 billion.