Romania’s UMB Steel has contracted SMS to provide a Continuous Mill Technology (CMT) 700 mill to enable 700,000 tonnes/year of bars, compact coils, and wire rod production in a continuous endless process.
The new unit, the first in Europe, upgrades the existing Oțelu Roșu plant infrastructure by enabling the uninterrupted production of long products from scrap by continuously feeding cast products from the meltshop to the rolling mill, SMS tells Kallanish. Process lead time from scrap to finished product is approximately 120 minutes, guaranteeing minimal carbon emissions and high production efficiency.
UMB Steel aims to meet increasing demand for sustainable construction materials, primarily supporting the UMB group’s highway construction operations.
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 electric arc furnace-based mill has been out of action since 2012, when it was known as Mechel Ductil Steel Otelu Rosu under its former Russian owner.
The new mill will reduce CO2 emissions up to 30% since no natural gas is required for billet reheating. It is designed for a flexible production mix thanks to the combination of a vertical compact coil (VCC) system for coils weighing up to 8 tonnes, a wire rod line for high-carbon construction grades produced in a billet-to-billet process, and a straight bar finishing area, SMS says.
No information was provided on the condition of the EAF or date for new mill commissioning.
Dorinel Umbrărescu-owned road construction conglomerate UMB group acquired the Oțelu Roșu steel plant in late 2024. It also recently agreed to purchase the Romania-based Hunedoara steelworks from ArcelorMittal.
