Trinecke Zelezarny (TZ) has begun the installation of a new billet grinding line that will improve the quality of wire rod and bar production and extend capacity by 120,000 tonnes/year, Kallanish learns from the Czech steelmaker. The CZK 600 million ($24.8m) project is scheduled for commissioning by end-2017.

The new technology will lead to an increase in output of products for further processing, such as screws, bearings and springs. The line, close to the existing billet grinding shop, will possess three grinders, a straightening press, air blast machine and car transport.

"The investment is about to ensure the sufficient capacity of ground billets, thus the input material for the production of special wires,” says TZ investment and strategy director Radek Olszar. “Only a perfect access into the rolling course can provide the top quality in order to avoid any surface defects of rolled bars or wire rod. Thus, we need sufficient number of billets with the decarbonized layer removed and without any surface defect.”

Sales of wire rod by Trinecke Zelezarny increased 14.9% year-on-year to 937,148 tonnes in 2015. Sales of bars and profiles, the company’s second most preferred product group, edged up 0.2% to 570,946t. Rails and railway accessories sales slipped, meanwhile, by -2% to 278,335t. More than 66% of the company’s total output was exported mainly to European countries.