Austria-based giant engineering and plantmaking company, Siemens VAI Mining and Metals Technologies, has announced the receipt of an order from Chinese steel producer Ningbo Iron and Steel Co. for the supply of drive and automation systems for a new 4.3-meter plate mill.
The deal includes Siemens' engineering, supplying and after-sales servicing of drives and automation, the systems and components of which are part of the Siroll PM solution which was specially developed for plate mills.
The commissioning of the new plate mill, which will have an annual capacity of 1.6 million metric tons of plate metal, mainly intended for use in shipbuilding, is scheduled for completion by the end of 2009.
The new plant will incorporate two walking-beam furnaces, a two-stand rolling mill, a hot plate leveler, cooling beds, a shearing section and a finishing shop.
The project will allow Siemens to further expand its market position as a supplier of electrical and automation solutions for plate mills.