Our plant is back from its summer vacation fresh and cheerful. All machines and equipment are clean and fit again - ready for another year. During the shutdown, everything was revamped in order to remain state-of-the-art.
Helfried Wernigg (Manager Plant Management) and Heinz Teuschl (Manager Seamless Pipe Rolling Mill) tell what has been done during the company holidays.
We are happy to start together again and to continue to live up to our motto Performance in Tubulars.
In the course of this year's 3-week company holidays a number of smaller maintenance works were carried out as well as some larger maintenance projects.
The shutdown was used to install a new chain carrier, a coil pusher and a cross transport carriage. This allows even more precise bundling and longer products produced in the future can also be transported safely .
To keep up state-of-the-art, the complete electro-technical equipment including the drive and control technology was replaced and the existing hydraulic system was extended by safety and control valves for an additional transport trolley and chain conveyor.
An adapted, noise-protected control stand with a central view of the bundling area enables the plant operators to react more quickly in case of any irregularities.
The project management, the complete basic engineering, the risk analysis, the CE marking, the documentation, the switch cabinet construction and the assembly were carried out in-house.
The mechanical engineering modifications including the installation of the new hydraulic valve stand with flow dividers were carried out by Mechanical Plant Engineering together with its long-term partner Bilfinger Industrial Services. The electrical planning and automation, as well as the commissioning were carried out together with the long-standing control technology partner, the company SPRECHER AUTOMATION.
We would like to thank the project team, all people involved and the suppliers for the performance and timely implementation of this construction project!
Helfried Wernigg, Manager Plant Management
A further automation of the layer saws was achieved by merging the control panels, an intelligent recognition of the pipe layer at the renewed outlet-side longitudinal stop for the cut release. The associated drives were also replaced to ensure the necessary availability of spare parts.
The additional adaptation of the hydraulic valve position means that both saws can now be operated independently of each other, significantly improving work safety during repair work and ensuring that this multi-faceted project was completed on time by the project team.
Due to the weaker capacity utilization caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the associated discontinuous operation of the rotary hearth furnace, it had to be maintained above the planned scope.
Greatest efforts were made to keep the scheduled repair time of the furnace with the aim to keep the promised delivery times of our quality pipes to the customers.
The long-standing partnership with the companies involved in the furnace refurbishment paid off especially well in this project. That made it possible to organize the additionally required lining materials as well as the required manpower in the shortest possible time.
Heinz Teuschl, Manager Seamless Pipe Rolling Mill
All maintenance work was completed on time so that voestalpine Tubulars customers received their deliveries within the guaranteed time frame and can continue to count on the quality from a state-of-the-art operation.
