Abstract: A method of cooling a rolled stock and including providing a cooling bed having entrance, middle, and end sections, transporting the rolled stock along the cooling bed in a direction transverse to the rolled stock longitudinal axis, air-cooling of the rolled stock in the entrance section of the cooling bed, spray-cooling of the rolled stock in the middle section of the cooling bed by spraying water onto the rolled stock, and air-cooling and air-drying of the rolled stock in the end section of the cooling bed.