Chinese steelmaker Baosteel has recently produced 0.22 mm thick DI (drawn and ironed) steel at its cold rolled coil (CRC) mill, with the produced material being delivered to its subsidiary company Baosteel Metal Co., Ltd for the production of cans. Baosteel said it expects to start mass production of 0.22 mm DI steel next year.
Up to now Baosteel has been able to produce DI steel of 0.225 mm thickness. In recent years, demand for Baosteel's DI steel has been increasing, while in the past two years its export volume for these products has risen. Baosteel is the only DI steel producer in China. Its production of 0.22 mm DI steel is expected to further improve Baosteel's competitiveness.