Defined product properties at moderate production costs will be the key factor for successful competition in globalized markets. These properties, however, are influenced by the material itself, the processing technology used in the plants during hot and cold rolling and by the relevant equipment used. Future challenges will be overcome by the development of new processes, plants, control systems etc. for future products, the increase of reliability of the systems, the development of adaptable standard solutions and standardization of interfaces. New aspects have to be considered with regard to the human-machine interfaces to integrate operator knowledge and experiences into the control system of the process; achieving an optimum from the product, machinery and process hence avoiding defects.