Gerdau Açominas has ordered a plate mill and a Steckel mill from Siemens VAI Metals Technologies. The two rolling mills will be constructed at Ouro Branco in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil.
From the end of 2012, 1.1 million tonnes of heavy plate and more than 800,000 tonnes of hot-rolled coil are scheduled to be produced annually. The value of the order exceeds USD 290 million.
The two new rolling lines are part of an investment program for the Ouro Branco Steel Works, which is intended to launch Gerdau Group as a flat carbon steel producer in Brazil. End products include high-grade plates for API (American Petroleum Institute) line pipes, as well as for shipbuilding, the construction industry, and pressure vessels.
Under the investment program, Siemens VAI has already supplied a single-strand continuous slab caster, with a capacity of 1.5 million tonnes per annum, which was put into operation in May 2009. As part of the current order, a second strand with the same capacity is to be added to this casting machine.
Siemens is supplying all the mechanical, electrical, and automation equipment for the two rolling lines. The plate rolling line consists of a single-stand plate rolling mill, a pre-leveler, a Mulpic intensive cooling section, and a hot plate leveler. Downstream are cooling beds, a double side trim shear and a dividing shear, a cold plate leveler, and the thick plate cutting area. An ultrasonic testing station is provided for quality assurance.
The heavy-plate line will produce plates with thicknesses between 4.5 and 150 mm, widths between 900 and 3600 mm, and lengths between 3 and 18 m.
For the Steckel mill, Siemens is supplying the Steckel rolling stand with coiler furnaces, a crop shear, a laminar flow cooling section, and the downcoiler with its associated coil handling devices. The rolling line is designed to produce steel strip ranging in width from 900 to 2100 mm and in thicknesses between 2 and 20 mm. The scope of supply includes fluids systems and the water treatment plants for the two rolling lines.
The main drives of both rolling mills are to be equipped with non-salient pole synchronous motors powered by Sinamics SM150 voltage source converters. The scope of supply also covers the complete instrumentation, the measuring system and the automation, and includes all the technological control systems and process models. The Siemens microstructure monitor will be used in the plate rolling mill.
Siemens Brasil Ltda is providing the complete power supply, including high-, medium-, and low-voltage switchgear, and the electrical equipment for the water treatment. Siemens VAI will also be responsible for supervising the installation and commissioning of the equipment supplied.
Gerdau is the leading producer of long products on the American continent and a leading supplier of special products. The group runs production plants in 14 countries in the Americas, Asia, and Europe and has an installed capacity of more than 20 million tonnes of steel per annum. Gerdau is also the largest recycling company in Latin America; it recycles some 16 million tonnes of scrap per annum.
The Siemens Industry Sector (Erlangen, Germany) is a leading international supplier of environmentally friendly production, transportation, building and lighting technologies. The Sector comprises six divisions: Building Technologies, Drive Technologies, Industry Automation, Industry Solutions, Mobility und Osram. With around 207,000 employees worldwide (September 30), Siemens Industry achieved in fiscal year 2009 total sales of approximately €35 billion.
The Siemens Industry Solutions Division (Erlangen, Germany) is one of the world's leading solution and service providers for industrial and infrastructure facilities comprising the business activities of Siemens VAI Metals Technologies, Water Technologies and Industrial Technologies. With around 31,000 employees worldwide (September 30), Siemens Industry Solutions posted sales of €6.8 billion in fiscal year 2009.