Nov 30 2010
Chinese steelmaker Shagang Wide Plate Mills Co. Ltd. (Shagang) has given Siemens VAI Metals Technologies an order to provide scheduled service support for their five-meter plate mill no. 1 in its Zhangjiagang Works.
The aim is to increase the reliability and availability of the plate mill even further. For Siemens VAI, the order represents the first service contract for a plate mill in China. It strengthens their activities as a partner to the steel industry throughout the entire plant life cycle.
Shagang plate mill no. 1 in Zhangjiagang, China. Siemens VAI will handle the service tasks for the next three years.
Scott Bellamy, Senior Service Manager for plate and aluminum rolling mills at Siemens VAI, explained, "The development and implementation of a suitable maintenance strategy contributes greatly to maintaining the long-term performance of plants in the steel industry. As a partner throughout the entire life cycle, our long-term oriented service packages provide high levels of reliability and availability for our customers' plants."
The plate mill in Zhangjiagang is fitted with Siemens mechanical and electrical equipment, and has been in operation since January 2007. The rolling stand has a rolling force of up to 10,000 tonnes, and is equipped with hydraulic roll gap control and work roll bending. A Mulpic® intensive cooling system is installed on the conveying side to provide the accelerated cooling required for the production of high-strength plates. The plant can produce some 1.8 million tonnes of heavy plate per annum, mainly for shipbuilding, tube manufacture and the construction industry in China.
In order to bring the reliability and availability of the plate mill up to a high level, a team of Siemens specialists will inspect the plant at regular intervals, and will deal with the latest maintenance issues and implement structured maintenance processes together with the customer. The service package will be backed up by a comprehensive range of training courses for Shagang's employees. The Siemens maintenance team will include specialists for the control system, basic and process automation, process technology, mechanical and fluid systems, as well as an expert for the Mulpic® cooling system.