Danieli of Italy Wins Order for Cold and Hot Rolling Mills from US Copper Plant

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On October 26, Italian metallurgical equipment manufacturer Danieli Group announced that German copper processing company Wieland has selected it to supply a two-high hot rolling mill and a four-high cold rolling mill for its copper processing plant in East Alton, Illinois, USA. The two sets of equipment will be used to replace the old rolling equipment that has been operating at the plant since the 1960s, as part of Wieland's USD 500 million plant modernization project. Danieli is currently completing the manufacturing of the mechanical and electrical equipment for the hot rolling mill.

The scope of supply for the hot rolling mill also includes an accelerated cooling system jointly developed by Danieli Fata Fröhling, a Danieli subsidiary, and Danieli Research Center. The system uses a shorter cooling section to increase the cooling rate of copper strip after rolling and improve material properties and subsequent processing capability. The supporting four-high cold rolling mill will be responsible for further rolling of copper and copper alloy strip. Together, the two sets of equipment will serve the product upgrade at the East Alton plant.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the Wieland East Alton plant renovation project was held in March 2025. The main construction content includes new hot rolling facilities and supporting copper processing equipment. The project adopts a phased construction approach, and the construction scope also involves casting equipment foundations, plant steel structures, material handling facilities, and automated warehousing systems. Graycor and Helmkamp, responsible for the plant renovation, completed the steel structure topping-out of the new hot rolling plant in January 2026 and subsequently advanced the construction of internal process equipment and supporting facilities.

The new rolling equipment will be used to produce rolled copper and copper alloy products, covering downstream markets such as automotive manufacturing, the defense industry, and energy infrastructure. Among them, the accelerated cooling system of the hot rolling line is the main technical configuration in this round of Danieli equipment supply. The plant is currently continuing to advance the manufacturing and installation preparation of related equipment.