How To Start Rolling Mill & Steel Products Industry

Rolling is the process of plastically deforming steel by passing it between rolls. Rolling is defined as the reduction of the cross sectional area of the steel piece being rolled, or the general shaping of the steel products, through the use of the rotating rolls. In rolling mills, intermediate steel products are given their final shape and dimension in a series of shaping and finishing operations.  Most of the slabs are heated in reheating furnaces and rolled into final shape in hot– or cold–rolling or finishing mills.

Rolling of steel is one of the most important manufacturing processes for steel. It is usually the first step in the processing of steel after it is made and cast either in Ingot or continuous cast product in a steel melting shop.

The initial rolling of steel is done in a hot rolling mill where blooms and slabs are rolled down to various rolled products such as plate, sheet, strip, coil, billet, structures, rails, bars and rods. Cold rolling of steel is also carried out for some products. Many of these rolled products such as rails and reinforcement bars etc. are directly used by the consumers while the other rolled products are the starting raw materials for subsequent manufacturing operations such as forging, sheet metal working, wire drawing, extrusion, machining, and fabrication industry. Steel rolling can produce a wide range of products. The width of a rolled product can vary from a few millimeters to several meters while the thickness can vary from 0.1 mm to more than 200 mm. The rolled section can be square, rectangular, round or shaped sections.

The Indian re-rolling industry has played a critical role in determining the growth path of the Indian steel industry. From a one million tonne industry at the time of India’s Independence to emerging as one of the major drivers of steel industry growth globally, the Indian steel industry has traversed an eventful journey.