Greek Aluminium producer ElvalHalcor grants “Final Acceptance Certificate” to SMS for Aluminium Hot Strip Mill

ElvalHalcor SA, the Greece-based aluminium producer has granted SMS group the final acceptance certificate for the new four-stand high-performance hot strip mill commissioned at the Oinofyta facilities near Athens.

During the installation, aluminium strips were successfully rolled in thicknesses between 1.8 and 12 millimetres and widths of over 2.6 metres on the advanced technology mill. After a few weeks of commissioning, ElvalHalcor SA rolled some premium quality of 70 coils, which are suitable for a wide range of industrial applications on the new, highly flexible mill in one production shift.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic challenges, the specialists from ElvalHalcor and SMS group did an excellent job in completing the commissioning activities without interruption. With travel restrictions in place, increased use was made of digital communication channels, also involving to a great extent expert based in Germany.

In accordance, the “Final Acceptance Certificate” was inked by the two contract partners during a virtual ceremony. Michael Schafer, responsible for aluminium rolling mills at SMS group, and Lampros Varouchas, Managing Director of ElvalHalcor SA, agreed that the key to success towards the completion of the project was due to experts on both sides, who stood up to the special challenges with close cooperation and great commitment.