5. Short-term technical outlook

5.1 Process continuity

It tends to avoid costly handling, which always marks semi-finished products and reduces the homogeneity of tinplate in the same delivery between several deliveries. A number of experiments have been carried out:

• hot rolling of continuous-cast slabs without passing through a reheating furnace: this is the culmination of the technique of hot charging the slabs in the reheating furnace: the technique, mastered by many forges, presupposes excellent control of the continuous casting process to eliminate surface defects on most slabs;

• fully continuous...