Hot Sheet RollingTechnology Committee

MISSION: "Promote safety and advancement in sheet and strip rolling technologies and operating practices through information exchange and training."

Past AIST Committee Activities

Current Activities

The Hot Sheet Rolling Technology Committee (HSRTC) met June 11–13 in Burns Harbor, Ind., at the Deerfield Training Center. The meeting began with a Producer Only discussion on safety and three reliability issues affecting the members’ plants. Presentations were made on these topics by Steel Dynamics Inc., North Star BlueScope, Severstal, Nucor Steel–Indiana, California Steel and AK Steel. A representative from ArcelorMittal Burns Harbor also gave presentations on these topics, including an overview of the plant. The entire committee met for lunch, which was then followed by a tour of ArcelorMittal Burns Harbor, in which a general tour of the plant layout was followed by a more in-depth tour of the hot mill. During the group discussions that followed, it was decided by the HSRTC that, for the time being, all committee members would be included in all discussions and the Producer Only discussions would not be held unless some future need was determined. A discussion on the status of the AIST and AISI committee integration was also held, including a focus on ensuring that all past participants are aware of this program. A review of past participants was held, and committee members volunteered to contact their associates from specific companies to guarantee their future involvement and participation. They also brainstormed on various ideas to ensure that participation in the meetings provided value for those attending, including round table discussions, technical presentations, meeting themes and plant tours. The current committee chair, Doug Finkbeiner, thanked Dwight Simon on behalf of the committee for all his efforts in organizing this meeting. The following day, a review of the Hot Rolling Fundamentals Training Seminar was held. Since this conference sold out again this year, the HSRTC decided to offer it again in 2009. A recommendation was made to hold it in Ypsilanti, Mich., in March 2009, and some minor changes were suggested for the program. Since this was the first HSRTC meeting, methods to handle other committee activities — such as future training programs and AISTech sessions — were also implemented. The committee had been planning a visit of European hot mills but decided to postpone this meeting until 2010. Several locations were suggested for future meetings, and the next HSRTC meeting will be held Oct. 15–17 in Butler, Ind., with a tour of Steel Dynamics Inc. It was also decided this meeting will focus on finishing mill stack mechanical maintenance, including discussion on problems and possible solutions.

The Sheet Rolling Operating Committee (SROC) met on May 7 in Pittsburgh, Pa., at AISTech 2008. Through the integration process with the AISI committees, this committee will break into a Hot Sheet Rolling Technology Committee (HSRTC) and a Cold Sheet Rolling Technology Committee (CSRTC). The leadership of the AISI and AIST committees involved with this integration met in April to begin planning so a proposal could be made to the members at this meeting. The discussion on this plan was the lead topic for the meeting. From this meeting, a slate of officers for the new committees was proposed and approved. Doug Finkbeiner was elected as chair, Eric Thokar as vice chair and Brendan Brophy as papers chair for the HSRTC. Scott Starr was elected as chair, David Paton as vice chair, and Homero Ortiz and Brian Nelson as papers co-chairs for the CSRTC. Members of the predecessor SROC could select one of these new committees or could participate in both. The mission statement for the new committees was then reviewed and approved as: “Promote safety and advancement in sheet and strip rolling technologies and operating practices through information exchange and training,” but the two committees will review it at the individual meetings. The HSRTC discussed plans for a June meeting, which included a tour of ArcelorMittal Burns Harbor, and potential plans for a fall meeting in Europe. The AISI Sheet Mill Practices Manufacturing Committee had a meeting already planned for May 7 and invited anyone who had an interest. The CSRTC fall meeting date and location was still to be determined. The upcoming Specialty Training Conference, Cold Rolling Fundamentals — A Practical Training Seminar, was also discussed. This seminar will be sponsored by the CSRTC and will take place in Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 22–26, 2009. The new committee was encouraged to continue to make this program meet the high standards that have been accomplished with the Hot Rolling Training Seminar.

The leadership of the AISI Hot Strip Mills and Sheet Mill Practices Manufacturing Committees and the AIST Sheet Rolling Operating Committee met at North Star Blue Scope Steel LLC in Delta, Ohio, on April 10. The main purpose of this meeting was for the current leadership of these committees to meet and discuss the new committee structure after the integration of the AISI committees into the AIST committees. Proposed new leadership for the new committees was discussed, and a slate of officers was recommended for the new AIST Hot Sheet Rolling and Cold Sheet Rolling Technology Committees that would be put forth to the committee memberships for approval. Also to maintain continuity through this transition, the Hot Sheet Rolling Technology Committee planned the date and location for their next meeting. Brendan Brophy made a safety presentation and discussion followed. Also for those attending, the manuals from the Hot Rolling and Cold Rolling Fundamentals Training Seminars were reviewed.