Continuous casting and rolling of multiple rods

A rolling system comprising:

• means including a die having a row of separate throughgoing passages for producing a plurality of continuously advancing and parallel hot metal strands;
• means including a plurality of pinch rollers for pulling the strands out of the die and moving them in a direction along a path;
• a vertical-roll stand on the path receiving the strands and horizontally compressing them;
• wherein the vertical-roll stand has an upstream row of vertical pairs of rolls and, immediately downstream therefrom in the movement direction of the strands, a downstream row of vertical pairs or rolls, the rows extending parallel to each other and transversely to the strands, each roll pair defining a nip and the nips of the downstream roll pairs being staggered transverse to the direction between the nips of the upstream roll pairs, some of the strands passing by the upstream roll pairs and through the nips of the downstream roll pairs and the remaining strands passing through the nips of the upstream roll pairs and by the downstream roll pairs;
• a horizontal-roll stand on the path aligned in the direction with the vertical-roll stand, receiving the strands, and vertically compressing them;
• and means for rotating the rolls and drawing the strands downstream.