en.Wedoany.com Reported - Texarkana Aluminum has successfully produced the first coil on its newly installed four-stand hot tandem rolling mill at its plant in Texarkana, Texas. The company now possesses one of the most efficient and advanced hot rolling mills in North America, capable of meeting the growing market demand for 1xxx, 3xxx, and 5xxx series coils, which are widely used in general alloy, automotive, can stock, foil, transportation, and aerospace applications.
In 2023, MINO S.p.A. of Italy was awarded the contract to design, supply, and commission an advanced four-stand hot tandem mill for Texarkana Aluminum, to be installed on the left-side extension roller table of the existing single-stand reversing hot mill supplied by Davy 30 years ago. With the addition of the new equipment, the hot rolling line has been transformed into what is known as a "1+4 hot rolling line": the original single-stand reversing hot mill serves as the roughing stand, while the newly supplied four-stand hot tandem mill acts as the finishing stands. The transfer bar from the roughing mill, with a thickness ranging from 0.8 inches (20 mm) to 1.57 inches (40 mm), is transferred via the left-side roller table to the new hot tandem mill, where it is rolled in a single pass to a final thickness of 0.079 inches (2 mm) to 0.394 inches (10 mm).
This 1+4 configuration achieves a combination of productivity and quality in terms of thickness tolerance, strip crown, flatness, and final hot-rolled coil temperature. Due to the short interpass time between reduction passes, this configuration prevents material recrystallization between passes, enabling the mill to obtain the ideal metallurgical texture suitable for the most demanding end applications. The gearboxes were designed by MINO technical experts, with components manufactured by specialized suppliers in Northern Italy. All parts were assembled, equipped with lubrication systems, and rotationally tested at MINO's gearbox test station in its Alessandria, Italy workshop. The hot tandem mill was designed, manufactured, and fully pre-assembled in the Alessandria workshop before delivery to the United States, including all onboard piping, sensors, and cabling, reflecting the supplier's commitment to high-quality manufacturing and smooth, rapid on-site installation. Transporting this massive equipment, weighing over 3,000 tons (including mechanical, hydraulic, cooling, electrical, and instrumentation components), required 200 containers and 80 wooden crates, making the logistics from Italy to Texas a project in itself.
To control the hot tandem mill and achieve the high productivity required by the process, MINO's process control department employed the AVANTI™ TCS system, providing AGC control and interstand tension control, including model-based predictive control. It is also equipped with powerful AC main drives and control systems, also designed by MINO's automation department, to ensure continuous and reliable operation. Texarkana Aluminum is the aluminum rolling division of Ta Chen International Inc. (TCI), a leading distributor of stainless steel and aluminum coils, sheets, plates, long products, pipes, and PVF products. After acquiring Texarkana Aluminum in 2018, TCI decided to make significant investments in the Texas plant, including the installation of a brand-new four-high cold rolling mill (supplied and commissioned by MINO in 2024) and this four-stand hot tandem mill.
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