June 2006 — VAI Fuchs, a company of the Siemens Group Industrial Solutions and Services (I&S), recently received orders from China totaling 7.7 million euros for the supply of equipment for two RH (Ruhrstahl-Heraeus) plants.
VAI Fuchs will install equipment and systems for the first unit — a new 150-t twin-stand RH degassing plant — at the No. 3 Steelmaking Plant of Jinan Iron and Steel Co. Ltd. (Jigang). Jigang, with an annual steel-production capacity exceeding 1.5 million tons, produces, among other products, deep-drawing carbon steel, silicon steel, ship plate, boiler plate and boiler tubes. Start-up is scheduled for April 2007.
For the second project, which is being carried out for Zhangjiagang Hongfa Steelmaking Co. Ltd. (Zhangjiagang), VAI Fuchs will expand an existing 180-tonne RH plant with the addition of a second treatment stand. Zhangjiagang produces approximately 1.5 million tons of RH-vacuum-degassing-treated steel for a broad range of carbon-steel products primarily for domestic consumption.
For both projects, VAI Fuchs will engineer and supply hardware and systems for key components such as the hydraulics, weighing and conveying equipment for the alloy system, vacuum pumps, instrumentation, automatic valves and Level 1 and Level 2 plant automation. The RH vessels will include a T-COB (Technometal - Combined Oxygen Blowing) lance for forced decarburization, chemical heating, and vessel heating. The Level 2 process control system will also provide operator guidance during degassing operations.
The VAI group, a division of the Siemens Group Industrial Solutions and Services (I&S), is one of the world's leading engineering and plant-building companies for the iron and steel industry as well as for the flat-product-rolling sector of the aluminum industry. VAI, derived from the company Voest-Alpine Industrieanlagenbau, Austria, provides a comprehensive range of supplies and services for all related technological processes and integrated automation solutions for the entire life-cycle of metallurgical plants.
The Siemens Industrial Solutions and Services Group (I&S) is the integrator of systems and solutions for industrial and infrastructure facilities and global service provider for the plant and projects business covering planning, installation, operation and the entire life cycle. I&S uses the electrical and technical products of other Siemens Groups in order to enhance productivity and improve competitiveness of companies in the sectors of metallurgy, water treatment, pulp and paper, oil and gas, marine engineering, open-cast mining, airport logistics, postal automation, intelligent traffic systems and industrial services. In fiscal 2005 (to September 30) I&S employed a total of 31,700 people worldwide and achieved total sales of EUR 5.390 billion.