German-based plantmaker SMS Siemag has announced that US-based PRO-TEC Coating Company has successfully started hot commissioning of the continuous annealing line supplied by SMS Siemag and installed at the works in Leipsic, Ohio. The line will be used to produce ultra-high-strength steel strips.
According to SMS Siemag, the line has been designed to produce almost 500,000 mt per year of steel strips for high-strength automotive structural components, which improve the safety of vehicles while reducing their weight at the same time.The line will produce strips with gages from 0.6 to 2.3 mm and widths ranging from 700 to 1,650 mm.
PRO-TEC is a joint venture between United States Steel Corporation and Japan's Kobe Steel, with several strip processing lines in Leipsic, Ohio. As a leading supplier of coated steel strip for the extremely demanding automotive industry, PRO-TEC will be expanding its range of products with the new facilities and will also supply the automotive industry with cold rolled high-strength and ultra-high-strength steel strips.
