The AIKW is a registered association with the aim of informing its members about current developments in rolling technology and the associated plant technology.

Unfortunately, the announcement of the conference was delayed this year, as there were problems with the number of hotel overnight stays at the originally planned conference location Celje. Therefore, a new conference venue had to be found in the Celje area, which we found in Rogaška Slatina (35 km east of Celje).

The board of the AIKW works on a voluntary basis and does not receive any remuneration for its work and the organization of the conferences.As the meetings are organized by a small circle of members, it may take some time to respond to inquiries or process business transactions.

Review of the AIKW conference 2023

This year's AIKW conference was held in Slovenia for the first time. The conference venue Rogaška Slatina, near Celje, is a spa town known for its healing water springs and has several large hotels. The Grand Hotel Rogaška Resort and the Atlantida Boutique Hotel had been reserved for the overnight stay.

Lecture event

The lecture event took place on 5 October 2023 at the Grand Hotel Sava Superior. Over 150 participants from many different countries registered for the conference. The lectures were held in English and there was an opportunity to ask questions after the lectures. During the coffee breaks and lunch in the hotel restaurant, there were also many opportunities for personal discussions.

The evening event began with a champagne reception in front of the Grand Hotel Rogaška Resort. The crystal hall of the hotel had been festively prepared for the dinner.

The multi-course gala dinner with Slovenian wines was musically accompanied by a quartet.

Factory tours

On Friday morning, the buses set off for the factory tours in Štore near Celje.

At Štore Steel d.o.o. the continuous SBQ rolling mill was visited. The rolling line consists of 2 reversing duo stands and a continuous rolling line with 6 horizontal and 4 vertical stands. The quick change devices allow frequent programme changes for a wide range of round, square. and flat profiles. The configuration of the rolling line is designed for normalising and temperature-controlled rolling.

At the roller manufacturer Valji d.o.o. in Štore, the entire casting process of a 20-tonne composite roll could be observed. After ramping up the mould to operating speed, two different layers of the roll barrel were produced by centrifugal casting. After the second layer had solidified, the mould was placed upright in a casting pit and the core was cast. The interesting tour became an unforgettable experience for the participants.