Oct 5 2004
voestalpine Austria Draht has awarded LOI Thermprocess a contract for a new bell-type annealing plant for the spheroidizing of rolled wire. The plant, which is to be installed at the Donawitz rolling mill, will consist of two annealing bases, a heating hood and a jet cooling hood and is to be installed in a newly constructed building next to the existing annealing shop. A protective atmosphere of 100 % nitrogen will be used.
The new plant will be designed for the heat treatment of batches of up to 48 t of rolled wire, corresponding to 32 wire coils weighing 1.5 t each, with a height of 1300 mm. In terms of useful dimensions, this will therefore be the world's largest bell-type furnace. The plant capacity will be 20,000 t per year.
The scope of supplies under the contract includes advanced S7-300 base control units and the ProViewS supervisory control system with the ProdPlan production planning tool. The supervisory control system will also control the existing annealing shop with seven bases and four heating hoods.
By purchasing the new plant and boosting the capacity of its Donawitz facility, voestalpine Austria Draht has taken a major decision for the future.
Production with the new plant is scheduled to start in July 2005.
For more information on annealing, click here.