Maastricht service centre starts up new levelling line

Dutch steel service centre Laura Metaal Staalcenter Maastricht has started up the new levelling machine which it ordered from German technology supplier Kohler last year.

The company invested in the new machine to meet increasing demand for high-tensile steels. Kohler’s Peak Performer 100P.2500-RB-C replaces an old machine which was outdated, and dismantled in the spring.

Depending on the yield strength of the steel, sheets up to 2,000mm wide can be processed up to a thickness of 12mm. In practice, a maximum of 2,100mm will be processed as this is the maximum width of the de-coil lines at the service centre.

The biggest problems often occur with thin sheet material, especially with 3mm and 4mm thick sheets, explains managing director Pieter Haumann. In the production of coils, the final flatness of the sheets after de-flashing is influenced by various parameters such as the rolling temperature, or cooling time. “For this reason, we have invested specifically in being able to straighten in the thin range up to a width of 2,000mm and with a maximum yield strength of 1,000 N/mm2,” he tells Kallanish.

Laura Metaal Staalcenter Maastricht is a job order company that stores and processes material owned by other traders and distributors. Its warehouse has space for up to 72,000 tonnes of coil and 25,000t of sheet, specialising in hot-rolled high-strength steel. Tata Steel Europe owns 49% of the company.

Christian Koehl Germany