The history - from ISP to ESP
ISP (In-line Strip Production) technology is an innovative technology conceived at the end of the 1980s within the Group and developed and industrialised in the early 1990s on the plant built at Acciaieria Arvedi in Cremona.
It is covered by numerous patents relative to both the whole process and the single phases of which it composed. This technology translates into a production process that belongs to the new generation of compact plants for the manufacture of steel coils which appeared on the world scene between the end of the 1980s and the early 1990s based on the so-called “thin slab” casting.
Since 1992, the development of ISP plant and technology has proceeded continuously, consolidating the technology's performance and paving the way for further evolution. With over 22 million tonnes of steel produced, the Arvedi ISP plant has established itself as a leading industrial application of thin-slab technology, characterized by a compact layout, high production flexibility, and the ability to manufacture high-quality products. The experience gained over the years continues to foster new opportunities for technological and plant development.
The experience and research conducted over years of intense work on the ISP plant in Cremona have allowed a further step forward to be taken, realised in the ESP (Endless Strip Production) process technology which connects casting and rolling in a fully continuous process.
This technological development has led to the filing of new patents regarding thin slabs and plates and special coils and billets, leading to the re-definition of the technology as Arvedi Steel Technology - AST.