Bangladesh's largest steel plant, Abul Khair Steel limited, has officially commenced operations at its rebar rolling mill located at Sitakunda, Chattogram, supplied by Germany's SMS Group. The new plant represents a major leap in the country's steelmaking capacity, designed to meet growing demand from the domestic construction and infrastructure sectors, according to SMS Group.
The facility, with a design capacity of 1.6 million metric tons per annum of deformed bars, strengthens Bangladesh's industrial base amid an infrastructure boom and establishes global speed benchmark, initially reaching 52.5 meters per second and then reaching 55.04 meters per second when producing 2-10mm deformed bars.
SMS group MEERdrive units are installed in the factory, providing independent drives for each pass. This design increases flexibility, ensures uniform product quality across all valve diameters (8-40mm) and significantly reduces maintenance requirements. The custom motor configuration also reduces roller ring consumption by approximately 60 percent compared to conventional systems, a key factor in reducing operating costs.
