German plantmaker SMS Siemag has announced that it will modernize coiler No. 3 at the hot strip mill No. 2 of Chinese steelmaker Wuhan Iron & Steel (WISCO) to enable the coiler to wind hot rolled strip with a higher strength and in greater thicknesses.

The hot strip mill No. 2 was the first hot strip mill in China with a strip width of more than 2,000 mm. With this modernization, WISCO intends to expand the range of its products in the area of high-strength steels and tube grades.

The modernized coiler is expected to come into operation in spring 2015 and will be able to wind tube grades of strength class X100 up to a thickness of 20 mm.