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SMS Meer Modernizes Mill for Nucor in ‘Record Time
Apr. 22, 2010 SMS Meer has modernized a finishing mill for Nucor Steel Darlington, S.C., in five weeks. The new continuous finishing mill is said to allow shorter stand changing times as well as reduced setup and adjustment times.
The new intermediate/finishing mill consists of four horizontal, one vertical, and three convertible type HL stand groups. The convertible groups are of dual-drive arrangement, with motors and gears keeping their position regardless of the stand configuration (either H or V). SMS Meer says this provides benefits for maintenance and plant fitness, easier access to these facilities, while minimizing depth and amount of required foundation works.
Flying shear, inter-stand equipment, quick change devices and tools, hydraulic and individual shear units are also part of the new setup.
SMS Meer notes that the short revamping time was enabled by modular pre-assembly of equipment and extensive pretests by its production team, which reduced the number of operations required on site.
Nucor Steel Darlington, a company of the Nucor Bar Mill Group, is a well-known producer of steel bars.
SMS Meer GmbH is a company of the SMS group, which is, under the roof of the holding SMS GmbH, a group of companies internationally active in plant construction and mechanical engineering for the steel and nonferrous metals industry. It consists of two business areas: SMS Siemag and SMS Meer. In 2009, around 9000 employees worldwide generated a turnover of more than EUR 3.8 billion.