Steel slabs are large, heavy and thick, weighing around 25 tonnes each. They must be thinner and lighter to be reasonable in use. The slabs are then processed in a rolling mill. Steel plate is classified into heavy plate and sheet, and requires different production techniques. The plate can be processed into flat plates, rolled into coils or cut to size.
The slabs are heated in furnaces until they become soft. The rolling mills operate like giant mangles or rolling pins, in which the slabs are rolled into plate or sheet. SSAB has rolling mills in Oxelösund, Borlänge, Montpellier and Mobile.
After rolling into different thicknesses, the various grades of steel can be quenched, hardened, tempered and after-treated. Certain grades are cut to size, galvanized and painted before the sheet is processed further by our customers into end use products. Rolling mills comprise heavy rolls for rolling the heavy steel slabs into thinner, usable sheet and plate. A distinction is made between sheet and heavy plate and between hot rolling and cold rolling.