UMB Steel commissions SMS group to supply Europe’s first CMT® 700 mill for sustainable long-product manufacturing in Romania

• Integration of Europe’s first CMT^® 700 at UMB Steel’s Oțelu Roșu site for sustainable production of long products and optimized costs per ton
• Endless rebar and high-quality steel grades produced in semi-endless mode to meet growing market demand
• Process lead time from scrap to finished product of approximately 120 minutes with an annual capacity of around 700,000 tons

UMB Steel s.r.l., a steel manufacturer based in Bucharest, has commissioned SMS group to deliver Europe’s first Continuous Mill Technology (CMT^® 700) to its site in Oțelu Roșu in Romania. The new long products mill will be integrated into the existing steelmaking complex and will operate in a continuous endless process, thus guaranteeing minimal carbon emissions and high production efficiency. UMB Steel aims to meet the increasing demand for sustainable construction materials, primarily supporting the UMB group’s highway construction operations.

The CMT^® 700 will enable an annual production of approximately 700,000 tons of straight bars, compact coils, and wire rod. SMS will deliver the plant on a single source basis, delivering mechanical, electrical and automation systems to integrate the new caster and rolling mill into the existing Oțelu Roșu steelmaking complex.

The innovative CMT^® technology upgrades the existing plant infrastructure by enabling the uninterrupted production of long products from scrap by continuously feeding cast products from the meltshop to the rolling mill.

The CMT^® 700 mill will reduce CO₂ emissions up to 30 percent since no natural gas is required for billet reheating.  The new plant is designed for a flexible production mix thanks to the combination of a vertical compact coil (VCC^®) system for coils weighing up to eight tons, a wire rod line for high-carbon construction grades produced in a billet-to-billet process, and a straight bar finishing area. The new continuous caster incorporates several technological features to maximize product quality and optimal process control, including CONREX mold tube for high casting speeds and CONDRIVE mold oscillation to increase product surface quality. The induction heating system between caster and rolling mill sets the appropriate rolling temperature during the multi-strand billet-to-billet production process.

The new mill will also incorporate the TBK REBARgauge, an autonomous laser measurement system that enables early detection of dimensional anomalies and reduces material waste by maximizing production tolerances.

This project marks the first collaboration between UMB Steel and SMS and is set to strengthen UMB Steel’s position in the Romanian long products market while demonstrating a significant step towards sustainable steel production in Europe.

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