JISCO starts up world’s first integrated CSP®–HSM line in Jiayuguan

JISCO Carbon Steel has launched serial production on what it describes as the world’s first fully integrated line combining compact strip production (CSP®) with a hot strip mill (HSM) at its Jiayuguan site in China. The start-up, marked by an official ceremony on February 2, follows a major rebuild and expansion that lifts the plant’s annual capacity from 2 million to 4.5 million tonnes.

The project is built around the combination of CSP® short-process technology with continuous hot strip rolling, giving JISCO greater flexibility to adapt production routes to changing product mixes while maintaining high throughput. The first coil was rolled on December 30, 2025, and the line has since moved into serial production.

SMS group supplied the complete automation package for the line, including X-Pact® process models and the X-Pact® Vision HMI. The integrated automation synchronizes billet scheduling and rolling rhythm between the CSP® tunnel furnace and the HSM reheating furnaces, enabling rapid route changes, real-time process adjustments and stable operation from the outset.

The automation scope covered a comprehensive revamp of the CSP® level 1 and level 2 systems as well as new automation for the hot strip mill. The system automatically adapts to different slab sources—either from the tunnel furnace or from the reheating furnaces—ensuring metallurgical consistency and smooth transitions between process modes. To support the combined production concept, the tunnel furnace’s swiveling car was converted into a shifting car for slab transfer to the finishing mill, complemented by redesigned roller tables.

On the equipment side, the upgraded line now comprises a roller hearth tunnel furnace, two walking beam reheating furnaces, a high-pressure descaling box, slab sizing press, two sets of four-high reversible roughing stands with vertical edgers, a crop shear, a six-stand finishing mill, laminar cooling, three downcoilers and a fully automated coil transport system. Modular prefabrication and staged installation allowed the HSM expansion to be completed without interrupting CSP® operations, helping JISCO maintain production and revenue during the upgrade.

For JISCO, the project is a strategic step toward more flexible, customer-oriented production. Mr. Qiao Degao, CEO of JISCO Hongyu New Materials Co., Ltd., said: “Bringing the world’s first integrated CSP®-HSM line into production is a strategic leap for JISCO Carbon Steel. We now have the flexibility to align products and processes with customer needs in real time, backed by stable, repeatable quality from day one.” He added that “SMS group’s automation technology and disciplined project execution were essential to meeting our schedule and performance targets.”

From the supplier’s side, Christoph Stappenbeck, Vice President Automation, Digital & Service Solutions at SMS group China, described the project as a new reference point, saying: “This reference sets a new benchmark in hot rolling automation.” He noted that the integrated CSP® and hot strip mill automation ensured “an exceptionally fast ramp up, stable rolling, and controllable quality.”

Source and Photo: SMS Group