Hot rolled Strip

Steel flat products such as strip (sheet) and plate are characterised by a width which is far greater than their thickness. The manufacture of such involves continuous casting of molten steel to obtain a slab format, followed by hot rolling in one or more steps in mills with flat, cylindrical rolls. Finished products can be as-hot-rolled or further processed by cold rolling. Plate is produced by rolling in a reversible mill while hot-rolled strip is processed in a continuous rolling line, the finished strip being coiled. Cold rolling of hot strip allows further reduction in thickness while tolerances, flatness and surface finish are improved.

In hot rolling of both plate and strip, control of temperature combined with judicious alloying permits attainment of a wide range of properties which can be extended even further through heat treatment and/or surface coating of the rolled product.

Applications for steel products in the form of plate and sheet cover a wide spectrum from the gigantic constructions of civil engineering and the marine and offshore segments to more familiar articles and machines from everyday life: automobiles and other vehicles, white goods, domestic and industrial systems for water, heating and ventilation, roof coverings and so on. At the end of their lifetime, the steel used for such applications can be recovered and recycled to 100%.