A two-day 57th Rolling Mills Operating Committee Meeting was organized at Bokaro Steel Plant in association with SAIL R&D Centre, Ranchi, which ended on January 12. The theme of the meeting was "Performance Improvement of Long & Flat Rolling Mills"
The Rolling Mills Operating Committee (RMOC) serves as a collaborative forum uniting engineers and experts hailing from diverse rolling mills within the steel industry across India. This dynamic coalition includes representatives from prominent entities such as SAIL, Tata Steel, RINL, JSW, JSPL, Mukand, JSHL, AMNS, Vedant-ESL, and MECON. Functioning as a nexus for knowledge exchange, the RMOC facilitates the sharing of valuable information, operational insights, innovative ideas, and varied perspectives among engineers actively engaged in the rolling mills sector across the nation.
The 57th RMOC meeting was poised to be a significant gathering, featuring the enthusiastic participation of 138 delegates from different steel plants nationwide. The primary focus of this assembly was the exchange of ideas and experiences aimed at enhancing the performance of rolling mills, improving the quality of steel products, achieving cost reduction, advancing digitalisation, and implementing environmentally conscious practices during the rolling process.
This pivotal event was marked by a robust agenda, with 51 presentations by different steel plants and units. These presentations, originating from rolling mills across India, shed light on cutting-edge practices, technological advancements, and transformative strategies within the industry. Technology suppliers such as NBC Bearings, Apyron India, Bharat Rolls, Maxis Motion, Signode, Danieli India, Kabba Projects, Grindwel Norton, and Indian Oil also showcased their latest innovations in the realm of rolling mills during the meeting.
In the conclusion of the RMOC meeting, 42 recommendations have been formulated which will be implemented in different steel plants in the coming one year for improvement in productivity, quality of products, reduction of rolling cost and improvement in environment.
The comprehensive nature of the gathering extends beyond intellectual exchange, as participants were also given the opportunity to broaden their understanding through a visit to the Bokaro Steel plant following the conclusion of the presentations.
Atanu Bhowmick, Director Incharge (Bokaro & Rourkela Steel Plants) in his inaugural message addressed the Committee members during the inauguration function. He emphasized on improvement in the operational efficiency of rolling mills. Birendra Kumar Tiwari, Executive Director (Works), Bokaro Steel Plant also addressed the committee and stressed upon reduction of cost of rolled products by improving the operational efficiency.
Chittaranjan Mohapatra, ED (Projects), Bokaro Steel Plant addressed the gathering and stress upon joining hands by mill operation and technology suppliers for overall improvement of rolling mill operations and reduction of product cost. Welcome address of the inaugural session was delivered by Anil Kumar, CGM (Services), Bokaro Steel Plant and Chairman , Organizing Committee of 57th RMOC meeting. He stressed upon digitalization and decarbonization in rolling mills.
Dr. Sushant Rath, General Manager & Head (Flat Rolling & Tribology), SAIL-RDCIS, Ranchi and Secretary, RMOC presented Secretary's report in the inaugural session and co-ordinated the activities for formulation of recommendations.
P. Pathak, Chief General Manager at RDCIS, Ranchi, played a pivotal role in the meeting as the invited session chairman. He underscored the importance of fostering in-house development of digitalization technology within the country. Emphasizing its potential to revolutionize the steel processing industry, he highlighted the need for cost reduction and a commitment to a sustainable environment.