A New continuous annealing line for steel sheet will be installed at a major Japanese steel manufacturer, the direct result of the growing demand from the automotive industry for ultra high-strength sheet (UHSS), according to the company.

Kobe Steel Ltd, headquartered in Chūō-ku, Kobe, recently reported that it will invest close to $470 million (50 billion Yen) in the installation of heat treatment facilities and cutting-edge equipment at its Kakogawa works, with an estimated production capacity of 240,000 metric tons per year, in response to automakers’ efforts to meet stricter regulations for fuel efficiency and collision safety by producing lighter car bodies with higher strength.

A new facility will combine a continuous annealing line with hot-dipped galvanizing and galvannealing equipment. The new production line and associated equipment will produce both cold rolled steel and hot-dipped galvanized/galvannealed steel, enabling the production of UHSS with high formability to meet customer needs. The passing process changes depending on the type of product being produced, either cold rolled steel or hot-dipped galvanized/galvannealed steel. When cold rolled steel is made, the steel undergoes heat treatment at the continuous annealing line. When hot-dipped galvanized/galvannealed steel is made, the steel first undergoes annealing and then galvanizing treatment by the galvanizing equipment.

Ultra high-strength steel (UHSS) has a tensile strength of 780 MPa or higher.

Together with the construction of the new line, which is expected to start up in February 2021, Kobe Steel will also increase the production capacity of its existing pickling and tandem cold mill and material handling equipment.

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