On April 13, German plantmaker SMS Siemag announced the receipt of an order from Chinese steel producer Shougang Jingtang (Shougang Jingtang United Iron and Steel) for the supply of a continuous annealing line.
Accordingly, the line will produce tinplate, which will then be electroplated and used as packaging material. An outstanding feature of the line is that it can reliably process very thin strips (down to 0.12 mm) under stringent quality demands and at very high speeds. The line is scheduled to go into operation in mid-2013.
Shougang Jingtang is a joint venture between Shougang Iron and Steel and Tangshan Iron and Steel. The new annealing line is already the third line of this type to be erected by SMS Siemag on Caofeidian Island, an artificially constructed island off the coast of the Chinese province of Hebei. The other two lines successfully began operations in 2009 and 2010.