50-MN tube extrusion press line for stainless grades

SeAH Changwon Integrated Special Steel (SeAH CSS) in South Korea has commissioned the tube extrusion press line which SMS group supplied in a record time. The 50-MN tube extrusion press line installed in Changwon in South Korea has an annual capacity of 35,000 tons of tubes in diameters between two and ten inches in Fe and Ni-based austenitic steels, Duplex and Super-Duplex alloys as well as special steels made of nickel-based alloys. With the inauguration of the plant taking place less than 24 months after contract signing, the team of SeAH and SMS group specialists has succeeded in sticking to the extremely tight project schedule.

Within the scope of the contract, SMS group supplied a multi-stage IAS induction heating plant, a vertical 20-MN piercing press, a 50-MN extrusion press and the run-out facilities. The pusher-type two-strand horizontal induction heating plant with integrated temperature equalization chambers processes billets of 204 to 380 millimeters in diameter. The billets are reheated in the four-station vertical induction heating plant before being prepared in the piercing and expansion press for the process in the tube press. After a three-station final heating process, the billets are transferred to the tube press. The run-out facilities with quench and cooling table are designed for extrusion lengths of up to 22 meters. SMS group also supplied associated ancillary equipment such as glass lubrication systems, manipulation and auxiliary equipment and a machine for making glass pads.

In South Korea, SeAH Changwon Integrated Special Steel produces stainless steel bars, wire rod and tubes made of high-grade special steel grades for customers in the automotive, shipbuilding, energy and plant engineering industries. With the new tube extrusion press line, SeAH CSS will expand its capacities and be able to offer a wider range of tube diameters, wall thicknesses and extruded lengths. “We wanted to become more productive. We are sure that we will achieve this with our new extrusion line. Moreover, the extended range of products will allow us to open up new customer segments,” says CSS Corporate Senior Manager Kang Seung-Hoon. “With SMS group we had a perfect partner by our side, capable of offering the complete process chain - from reheating down to the finished tube - from a single source. We are very proud that our new line could be started up so early.”

The contract for the supply of the equipment had been signed in July 2015. Already during the engineering phase it became obvious that IAS, experts in induction solutions, and the SMS group’s extrusion press team worked very efficiently hand in hand.

The equipment was installed and commissioned in close cooperation with the SeAH project team. The first tube was extruded on January 20, 2017. The official inauguration took place on March 29. In recognition of the swift project execution, SeAH CSS CEO Lee Jee-Yong presented SMS group Executive Vice President Ulrich Vohskämper with a Plaque of Appreciation. “Less than 24 months from contract signing to the extrusion of the first tube was a genuine challenge,” said Vohskämper. “This was only possible thanks to the exceptional commitment of all involved, very intensive communication, a perfectly staffed project team and highly flexible planning of assembly and installation. A great job done on both sides.”

From left to right: Kim Jin-Hee, Team Leader of SeAH CSS Steel Pipe & Tube Team; An Kyoung-Sik, Vice President of SeAH E&T; Suh Young-Bum, President of SeAH Holdings; Lee Sang-Chul, Union leader of SeAH CSS; Lee Jee-Yong, President of SeAH CSS; Lee Soon-Hyung, Chairman of SeAH Group; Ulrich Vohskämper, SMS group Executive Vice President; Lee Tae-Sung, COO of SeAH Holdings & President of SeAH Besteel; Lee Sang-Eun, Executive Vice President of SeAH CSS and Lee Joo-Sung, Executive Vice President of SeAH Steel

While SMS group presented the “Target Reached” award to SeAH Changwon Integrated Special Steel as a “thank you” for the excellent cooperation, SeAH recognized the swift project implementation by SMS group with a “Plaque of Appreciation”

Based on SMS group information