A plant for the production and packaging of bars and steel profiles includes a rolling station of rods and profiles of indefinite length, a cooling station, a scrap separation station, a diverter device, cutting shears, intended to cut said bars and profiles in bar portions having a fixed length, and a speed changing device, able to move the bar portions at a speed rate such that they can be placed within respective grooves or housing provided on the outer surface of at least one cylinder or rotating drum. Each cylinder or rotating drum is associated with a speed changing device, so that the housing receives bar portions at different speeds, depending on the fact that the housing belong to one first or to at least second rotating cylinder, in order to avoid overlap of the bar portions when the same are discharged onto the cooling plate.

A bar unloading apparatus of the revolver type, comprising: a longitudinal rotor (10) divided into at least three longitudinal stretches (11, 12, 13) integral with one another and adapted to rotate about a longitudinal rotation axis, on the outer longitudinal surfaces of which there is provided a plurality of longitudinal channels, extending on the at least three stretches over the whole longitudinal extension of the rotor (10) and parallel to said longitudinal axis, to receive respective longitudinal bars, and at least one braking device for braking the longitudinal bars entering in at least one of the longitudinal channels, wherein the at least one braking device is integrated in at least one first stretch (12) of said at least three longitudinal stretches (11, 12, 13), is rotationally fixed to the longitudinal rotor (10) and is provided with braking elements (1) in each of said longitudinal channels so that said at least one braking device can rotate together with the longitudinal rotor (10) and brake the longitudinal bars even during a rotation of the longitudinal rotor (10).

A flat rolled article (2) passes through a cooling device (1) in a transportation direction (x) at the level of a passline (3). Spray bars (5, 6) extend transversely with respect to the transportation direction (x). The spray bars (5, 6) have, as viewed perpendicular to the transportation direction (x), in each case two outer regions (7, 8) and a central region (9) in between. A liquid cooling medium (13) can be fed into the regions (7, 8, 9) via respective dedicated, individually controllable valve devices (10, 11, 12). Flow rate profiles, pertaining to each region may be set, wherein each region (7, 8, 9) is triangular in shape. The central triangle and the two outer triangles combine to form a rectangle.

A flat rolled article (2) passes through a cooling device (1) in a transportation direction (x) at the level of a passline (3). Spray bars (5, 6) extend transversely with respect to the transportation direction (x). The spray bars (5, 6) have, as viewed perpendicular to the transportation direction (x), in each case two outer regions (7, 8) and a central region (9) in between. A liquid cooling medium (13) can be fed into the regions (7, 8, 9) via respective dedicated, individually controllable valve devices (10, 11, 12). Flow rate profiles, pertaining to each region may be set, wherein each region (7, 8, 9) is triangular in shape. The central triangle and the two outer triangles combine to form a rectangle.