The study described in this article had the goal of maintaining the temperature of a slab on the receiving and intermediate conveyors of a rolling mill and also maintaining the temperature of the resulting strip before it leaves the finishing train. This is achieved by applying a protective coating to the slab before it is charged into the heating furnace and after it leaves the last stand of the roughing train. The coating maintains the temperature of the metal after it leaves the furnace and moves along the receiving conveyor to the stands of the mill. It also prevents the formation of air scale on the slab surface. When plates are being rolled, use of the protective coating makes it possible to reduce the temperature to which the slabs are heated prior to rolling.