Chinalco orders highly advanced aluminum hot rolling mill from SMS group

• From 2028, Chinalco Southwest Aluminum Co., Ltd. (SWA) plans to expand its product portfolio to serve the packaging, automotive, and aviation markets with superior-quality aluminum casting and strip products
• SWA will continue to rely on the successful lifecycle partnership with SMS, underpinned by the excellent collaboration to date
• SWA aims to produce 770,000 tons per year of wide high-quality hot strip

Chinalco Southwest Aluminum Co., Ltd. (SWA), headquartered in Chongqing Xipeng, China, and SMS group have signed a contract for the supply of a new 1+4 aluminum hot-strip mill.

The mill is a key processing line in a new plant located near the existing site in Xipeng. SWA aims to build a high-end facility to further elevate its position in the global metals industry.

The scope of supply from SMS includes a robust roughing mill with an edger mill and a four-stand finishing mill featuring CVC^® plus (continuously variable crown) technology for superior strip quality. This is complemented by one heavy and one light crop shear, a coiling section, coil transportation equipment, and fluid systems. The rolling mill is designed to handle 39-ton ingots.

The powerful, high-performance hot rolling mill will be designed to produce 770,000 tons of high-quality aluminum hot strip, enabling SWA to deliver a broad portfolio of state-of-the-art products tailored to the packaging, automotive, and aviation markets from 2028 onwards.

“The order for a new aluminum hot strip mill marks the next level of our partnership with SMS group. Building on successful deliveries and mutual trust, we are confident that SMS group’s advanced technology and proven expertise will enable us to expand our product portfolio and meet the exacting demands of our customers. This investment underscores our commitment to world class production standards and to a long-term collaboration with a reliable partner to drive sustainable growth and innovation,” says Li Yong (Chairman of Southwest Aluminum)

Southwest Aluminum is one of the leading manufacturers of flat-rolled aluminum products within the Aluminum Corporation of China (Chinalco), China’s largest aluminum producer. The company’s confidence in SMS as a supplier of advanced aluminum rolling mill technology is based on the successful implementation of previous orders, which has enabled their fruitful collaboration to evolve into a solid, trustful partnership.