Italian steel processor Marcegaglia has selected France-based engineering group Fives to modernize the annealing and pickling line at its Gazoldo degli Ippoliti plant in Italy, according to Fives.
Under the project, Fives will deploy its Virtuo™ L digital solution to automate and optimize thermal process control for hot-rolled and cold-rolled stainless steel products, improving temperature transitions across a broad range of steel grades and strip dimensions while reducing fuel consumption.
The software will also enable systematic production data collection, supporting further efficiency improvements and the progressive digitalization of the line.
Marcegaglia’s historic Gazoldo facility processes both carbon and stainless steel. Its product range includes coils, strips and sheets, flat bars and sections, welded structural and precision tubes, as well as hot-rolled, cold-rolled and galvanized products. The site also processes austenitic and ferritic stainless steel products with 1D and 2B finishes.
The carbon steel section includes one pickling line, 28 annealing bases, sheet and strip service centers, four tube mills processing hot-rolled strip and 22 tube mills processing cold-rolled strip.
The plant has annual production capacities of approximately 500,000 mt of hot-rolled stainless steel products and 250,000 mt of cold-rolled stainless steel products. The latest project forms part of Marcegaglia’s broader efforts to increase automation, operational flexibility and environmental performance at the site.
