VAD very positive about new Danieli cross-rolling mill

Vallourec Deutschland (VAD) has been reporting positively about its new cross-rolling mill, installed by Danieli.

According to VAD the equipment has performed well from the beginning and reached the new mill’s performance targets shortly after start-up, according to Danieli.

The machine, which was built, assembled and pre-tested at Danieli’s HQ workshops in Italy, was installed during an eight-week outage period at the steel plant. “Innovative, pre-fabricated foundation modules and erection techniques were adopted to achieve such short shutdown targets,” said Danieli, adding that the VAD installation was a ‘new milestone’ in seamless pipe production.

VAD’s chairman, Dr. Ulrich Menne, said that it’s new cross-rolling mill will enable the company to expand its product range and produce higher quality premium materials with higher resistance to deformation in terms of alloyed and high-alloy materials. “At the same time we want to expand our dimension range,” he said, adding that VAD wants to take a ‘further step’ towards meeting new market requirements in the field of thin-walled pipes and pipe lengths.

Danieli Centro Tube developed the cross-rolling mill with the specific aim of meeting the ‘demanding requirements’ of VAD. The company wanted the flexibility to roll carbon, alloy and high-alloy steel grades starting from 400mm to 800/850mm OD ingots and tubes ranging from 244mm to 711mm OD (9-5/8 to 28 inches).