New rebar mill in Dominican Republic
Ecoacero, an Estrella Group company, has placed an order with SMS group for a new rebar mill to be located near Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, to serve the growing local and regional construction industry.
As one of the largest construction services and products group in the country, Estrella made a strategic movement to reinforce its vertical integration, as well as the ecosystem formed by its companies. With this diversification, a portfolio is established to address the growing demand in the construction industry in the local market, and at Caribbean and Central American levels.
The upcoming facility will introduce a versatile range of rebar to the market, tailored to meet the demands of different construction industry segments, manufactured using technology from SMS, and adhering to international quality standards.
The complete project, conceptualised with a sustainability philosophy, consists of two phases, with the integration of steel production, involving a melt shop with a continuous casting machine, from the scrap processing.
SMS group's comprehensive scope encompasses the design of the entire rebar mill, along with the delivery of mechanical and electrical equipment.
The scope of delivery includes a reheating furnace for billets, feeding a continuous single-strand rolling mill. Products are finished on a Meerdrive® finishing block — a machine that reduces CO2 emissions and boosts plant efficiency. Water boxes in the production process enable steel with improved mechanical properties through quenching and self-tempering of the bars, minimising the use of expensive alloying elements in the melt shop.
The entire rolling mill will be controlled by SMS automation, including level 1 and 2, connected to the SMS Mercury process optimisation system.
The second phase involves a modern electric arc furnace (EAF), with high electrical efficiency and designed with advanced burner and oxygen injector technology to reduce CO2 emissions.
The scrap charging-based EAF will be equipped with the latest SMS technologies for safe and automatic operation, and aimed at reducing the carbon footprint. The entire melting-refining-casting process line will be monitored by an X-Pact® Level 2 system to ensures smooth interface with the phase-1 rolling mill.
The plant commissioning is scheduled for the beginning of 2025.