Georgsmarienhütte inaugurates new rolling mill
Greater flexibility, higher precision, faster delivery: with a new rolling mill featuring two Kocks blocks in Georgsmarienhütte, the GMH Group aims to set new standards in terms of variety, quality and delivery performance.
The GMH Group, one of Europe’s leading suppliers of bar steel, rolled steel and crude steel, has officially inaugurated a new, state-of-the-art rolling mill at its site in Georgsmarienhütte. According to the company, this investment in a flexible system – the first of its kind in Europe – opens up new opportunities for customers in terms of variety, quality and delivery performance.
The €26 million expansion enables the company to offer bespoke steel solutions for the most demanding sectors – from the automotive industry and e-mobility to energy, construction and mechanical engineering.
“Our new rolling mill offers customers exactly what they need: flexibility, precision and reliability,” says Marc-Oliver Arnold, Plant Director at Georgsmarienhütte GmbH. “We can now respond more quickly to changing market demands, produce a wider range of sizes and grades, and ensure consistently high quality with minimal downtime.”
Technological innovation
At the heart of the new rolling mill are two high-performance three-high rolling stands – the RSB 370++ and RSB 445++ – which can be operated either in combination or independently of one another. This configuration gives the GMH Group’s customers access to one of the most flexible production systems in Europe.
Whilst the RSB 370++ has been in operation since 2001 and was modernised in 2012 to enable operation under load, the RSB 445++ was built from scratch, including the extensive infrastructure required for it. The bespoke system was developed in collaboration with the manufacturer Friedrich Kocks and, thanks to its high forming capacity, enables significantly faster production cycles.
The key innovation: both Kocks blocks can be flexibly combined – a technical innovation that enables the production of special steels with diameters ranging from under 35 mm to over 100 mm, covering a wide size range from 20 to 130 mm (potentially up to 142 mm). Furthermore, the new RSB 445++ can be moved between the two rolling lines – according to GMH, a technical masterstroke, given that the block alone already weighs 185 tonnes. And yet, the repositioning takes only a few minutes.
“This project is not just about technology, but about our customers,” says Dr Alexander Becker, CEO of the GMH Group. “By increasing flexibility, performance and energy efficiency, we are helping our partners to remain competitive and sustainable in rapidly changing markets, particularly in electromobility and other forward-looking sectors.” Together with the installation of two electric single-bar quenching and tempering lines (EVA) and the Buderus Edelstahl rolling mill, the Group is strengthening its position as the European market leader for high-quality special steels.
Source: GMH Group