WISCO to expand flat steel capacity with hot strip mill upgrade

China's Wuhan Iron and Steel Co. (WISCO), a subsidiary of Baowu Steel Group, has awarded Primetals Technologies a contract to convert its compact strip production (CSP) line into a conventional hot strip mill (HSM), significantly expanding production capacity and product capabilities.

The project will upgrade WISCO's existing CSP line, commissioned in 2008, into a 4.2 mln tons-per-year hot strip mill. The revamped facility will feature new slab reheating furnaces, a reversing roughing mill, upgraded finishing mill, laminar cooling system and downcoilers, along with new automation and process control systems.

The upgraded mill is designed to produce higher-value flat steel products, including advanced high-strength steels (AHSS), silicon steel, high-carbon grades and microalloyed steels for pipe applications.

Primetals Technologies said the project is scheduled for completion within 21 months and marks its second conversion of a CSP plant into a conventional hot strip mill, following a similar project completed in Germany in 2025.

Wuhan Iron and Steel Co. (WISCO) is a subsidiary of Baosteel Co., part of China Baowu Steel Group, the world's largest steelmaker. The company produces a wide range of flat steel products, including automotive, silicon, pipeline, structural steel and rails.