Diaco, the Colombian branch of Brazilian company Gerdau, has contracted Siemens VAI Metals Technologies to modernize two bar mills at its Tuta and Tocancipá locations. The modernized rolling mills are scheduled to come into operation at the end of 2012, and will be designed to produce rebars in different diameters.
Siemens will supply mechanical equipment and the fluid system for Diaco's bar mill in Tuta, Boyacá Province. The roughing mill will be equipped with a new billet feeder and a new pinch roll. The remainder of the rolling line will be completely renovated, and equipped with 11 Red-Ring rolling stands. Three new stand motors will also be supplied.
In the Tocancipá works in Cundinamarca Province, the rolling mill will be equipped with a new main drive for the rougher and mechanical equipment such as gears, drive spindles, loop formers, and shears. In the cooling section, Siemens will install a new cooling bed and shears for the hot and cold cutting, including the associated electrical equipment and basic automation. Mechatronics packages for shearing and optimized cutting are also to be supplied.
Siemens is responsible for supervising the installation and commissioning of both projects.
Diaco is the main steel producer of Colombia. Since 2004, the company has been part of Gerdau, one of the world's largest steel producers. It owns the largest scrap recycling plant in the country to produce long products in Tocancipá. It also runs production sites in Muña, Cali, and Tuta; and service units in Cota, Cartagena, Bucaramanga, Pereira, Medellín, Yumbo (Valle), Tocancipá.
Gerdau is the leading producer of long steel in the Americas and one of the largest suppliers of specialty long steel in the world. It has 45,000 employees and an industrial presence in 14 countries with operations in the Americas, Europe, and Asia, which together represent an installed capacity of over 25 million tonnes of steel per year.
The Metals Technologies Business Unit (Linz, Austria), part of the Siemens Industry Sector, is one of the world’s leading suppliers of plant construction and engineering in the iron and steel industry as well as in the flat rolling segment of the aluminum industry. The business unit offers a comprehensive product and service portfolio for metallurgical plants and equipment as well as integrated automation and environmental solutions covering the entire lifecycle of plants.