Primetals Technologies Awarded FAC for Kobe Steel’s Plate Finishing Mill at Kakogawa Plant

• Production capacity ramped up to maximum right from the start
• Tight deadline met despite challenges related to the Covid-19 pandemic
• Kobe Steel benefits from increased mill performance and competitiveness of its plates as well as a more stable product supply system

Primetals Technologies has recently received the final acceptance certificate (FAC) for a plate finishing mill at Kobe Steel's plant in Kakogawa, Japan. This rolling mill was ordered in 2021 as Kobe Steel wanted to implement state-of-the-art equipment to improve product quality and further enhance its already short and stable delivery times. Primetals Technologies was responsible for the supply of core mechanical equipment, auxiliary and ancillary technologies, as well as on-site supervision for construction work and implementation.

Leading Supplier of Plate Mills

The plate finishing mill at Kobe Steel's Kakogawa Works had been in operation since 1972, i.e. for over 50 years. Kobe Steel choose Primetals Technologies as the supplier of the new mill mainly based on its extensive reference base regarding similar projects in Japan as well as other parts of the world.

Primetals Technologies managed to deliver and implement the mill on schedule although the project started while supply chains and many other processes still were heavily affected by restrictions and constrains related to the Covid-19 pandemic. The timely implementation was made possible mainly thanks to close collaboration and efficient communication between the Primetals Technologies team and personnel from Kobe Steel.

Enhanced Performance

Featuring the most modern solutions, the new finishing mill showcases Primetals Technologies' determination to carefully design advanced rolling mill technology. It processes plates with thicknesses from 4.5 to 360 millimeters at widths of 1,000 to 4,500 millimeters. The plate finishing mill enables Kobe Steel to enhance mill performance both in terms of product quality and delivery times while increasing its competitiveness within the steel plate industry.

Highly Durable Steel Plates

Kobe Steel is a global company that operates worldwide under the unified group brand "KOBELCO". The company's proprietary portfolio of steel plate products includes Ecoview Plus, a highly durable steel plate for the bridge sector, and EX-Facter, a fatigue-resistant steel plate with longer lifetime than conventional steel plates.