Yukun Iron and Steel Group, a steel producer in China, has achieved a record 145-mm slab thickness at its new Danieli QSP-DUE plant in Yuxi, Yunnan, using a 152-mm funnel mold.

This achievement enhances strip quality due to a higher reduction ratio in the mill and expands the potential of the QSP-DUE process for the production of high-quality hot-rolled coils.

The Danieli QSP-DUE plant produces low- and medium-carbon, HSLA, and medium-carbon high-alloyed grades, with ultralight gauges down to 0.8 mm in endless mode and thick gauges up to 25.4 mm in coil-to-coil mode.

The plant, featuring two casting strands and with endless casting-rolling on one, produces over 4.5 Mtpy of hot-rolled strip, making it the world’s highest-performing direct casting-rolling facility.