The companies said the modernization included replacing one of the 25-year-old first-generation compact cartridge stand (CCS®) mill stands and installation of upgraded electrical and automation equipment with advanced control functions. 

The SMS workshop assembled and tested the new CCS mill stand and tested it before it was installed at the Castellbisbal site. It was then integrated into the new equipment at the medium section mill. The previous Gen-1 CCS (UR) stand was replaced by the newest CCS stand. Upgrades included the technological control system and a complete Profinet network migration.

Hot commissioning was two days ahead of schedule, with the first start-up beam made with the right tolerances. Previous upgrades have brought the mill’s capacity from 500,000 metric tons annually to 1 million metric tons annually. Other upgrades includes a higher-capacity cooling bed and an advanced compact roll straightener (CRS®), the companies said. 

The companies said the project was completed in 12 months during the planned annual maintenance shutdown.