In a statement, Primetals Technologies said the upgrade entailed replacement of  the level 2 automation on the plant’s No. 3 slab caster with its CC Optimizer process optimization solution. 

The solution includes automated casting speed control, condition monitoring of the secondary cooling system and early detection of breakouts. A fully integrated quality control system enables automated quality assessments and rapid failure analyses, which are based on production data gained over the long term, Primetals Technologies said. 

The software solution is based on a subscription model. 

“As part of the subscription concept, Primetals Technologies provides regular updates and support for the recently installed systems. Therefore, the process optimization solutions are always up to date. The team from Primetals Technologies has heavily expanded its subscription offers over the past year, and the portfolio of software subscriptions is wide-ranging,” Primetals Technologies said. 

Additionally, the project is virtualizing all of Gerdau’s servers. 

“The necessary hardware, including the operating systems, is managed in a central data center. This solution enables lifecycle management of the server infrastructure, ensures fast scaling of services, and shortens the response time of the IT team,” the company said.