German engineering company Kocks has announced that Chinese special steel producer Baoshan Iron & Steel Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of China Baowu Steel Group, has successfully rolled the first bar at its new greenfield rolling mill, marking an important step in the ramp-up of the facility.
The mill, which has an annual capacity of 620,000 mt, was built as part of Baoshan’s plan to relocate its Shanghai production facility and replace older rolling equipment commissioned in 2003. The new finishing equipment supplied by Kocks will help the company produce high-quality special bar quality products with improved dimensional precision and more stable rolling performance.
The facility will manufacture straight bars in sizes ranging from 20 mm to 100 mm for demanding downstream industries. It is also equipped with automation systems that allow key adjustments to be made remotely from the control room, while digital tools support faster setup and better coordination between production planning and roll shop operations.
According to Kocks, the first bar was rolled within the required tolerances, providing a strong basis for the next phase of ramp-up. The company stated that Baoshan will now focus on stabilizing production and continuing on-site training in order to maximize the performance and availability of the new investment.
