Danieli Seven-Life Side Guides successfully commissioned at Hoa Phat Dung Quat on QSP® line

Hoa Phat Dung Quat Integrated Steel Complex has successfully commissioned Danieli’s Seven-Life Hydraulic Side Guides on the QSP® (Quality Strip Production) line at its works in Dung Quat, Vietnam.

The installation is part of the continuous improvement program for the QSP line, where stable strip guidance at the downcoiler entry is critical to ensure consistent coil geometry under demanding rolling conditions.

The Seven-Life Side Guides system combines fully hydraulic, force-controlled strip guidance with an automatically rotating wear-disk design, ensuring uniform wear distribution and extended service life. The solution replaces conventional fixed wear-plate side guides, reducing localized wear and manual maintenance activities.

Integrated with the QSP line process control philosophy, the side guides support improved strip centering at coiler entry, reducing the risk of telescopic coils, enhancing strip edge protection, and extending the maintenance intervals. Stable and repeatable guidance is ensured throughout the entire coiling cycle, including tail-out and deceleration phases.

Operational feedback from Hoa Phat confirms the benefits of the new system. Since commissioning, the rotary side guides have delivered more consistent strip guidance and improved coil shape, particularly during tail-out. Compared with the previous fixed, flat side-guide system, which required frequent weld rebuilds and replacement, the rotating wear disks provide even wear and simplify replacement, significantly reducing material and labor maintenance costs while increasing equipment reliability under high-quality steel production conditions.

The installation confirms the suitability of Danieli’s Seven-Life Side Guides for high-productivity and compact rolling concepts, such as QSP®, where process stability and equipment reliability are essential to achieving competitive operating costs and consistent product quality.

The Danieli-supplied QSP® line at Hoa Phat Dung Quat has now exceeded 16 million tons of hot-rolled coil production, serving both domestic and export markets.

Commenting on the installation, Mr. Cao Tien Ngoc, Director of Hoa Phat Dung Quat QSP®, highlighted the operational impact of the new solution:

“Since the introduction of Danieli’s Seven‑Life Side Guides, we have observed a clear improvement in the stability of the coiling process. Strip guidance is more consistent, especially during tail‑out, thus allow perfect coil shape.”

Adding on the maintenance friendly of new Guides System, Mr. Vu Thanh Trung, Manager of QSP Maintenance shared:

“Previously, the fixed flat side guide system wore out quickly. During weekly maintenance days, we had to perform weld rebuilds on the worn areas, and after just 2–3 such weld rebuilds, it had to be replaced, leading to high maintenance costs and affecting equipment stability.  

With the new Rotary Side Guides system, the working surface of the worn part wore evenly thanks to the rotation mechanism. The lifespan of each side of the rotary disc reached about 6 weeks, with a total usage time of a part of at least 12 weeks at a rate of approx. 62,000 t per week. At the same time, replacing the worn part is much simpler, significantly reducing material and labor maintenance costs, and, especially, increasing equipment reliability, performing well under high-quality steel production conditions.”