An impact load controller (28) compensates for the speed drop of a drive motor (12), which speed drop is caused by a load disturbance applied to the drive motor (12). A change in the dynamics of a speed controller (30, 34) in a speed regulator system for a stand in a tandem rolling mill is initiated by detecting a speed error (WE) which is greater than a predetermined speed error value and is removed after the speed error has been reduced to a predetermined value. The controller (28) is a pure rate controller whose input is converted into a rate change in speed error, which is multiplied by a gain factor. The resultant gain value product is initially increased by a predetermined factor to provide a high input signal to the (PI) speed controller (34) of a multi-loop speed regulator system for the drive motor (12), and to precharge a low pass filter. Thereafter, the output of the impact load controller (28) is a function of the time constant of the low pass filter; whereby the product gain consisting of the rate of change in speed error decays exponentially. The load impact controller (28) can be either a microprocessor type of control arrangement or an analog type of control arrangement.