Spindle failure during fast steel rolling is one of the major equipment failures encountered at Onesteel Whyalla Steelworks (WS). Spindle failure whilst infrequent has been occurring over a long period of time and is a significant cost impost in terms of replacement parts, repair and lost production. Previous attempts at mechanical analysis and spindle redesign have not rectified the problem. This thesis presents an in-depth investigation of the problem and uses a completely new approach, modeling and control, to obtain a solution to the problem.