March 2006 — Mittal Steel South Africa Limited recently awarded its "Breakthrough Project Award" (Bronze) to Voest-Alpine Industrieanlagenbau (VAI), Austria, for the supply of automation systems and the improvements achieved in oxygen steelmaking operations at Vanderbijlpark Steel, South Africa.

The project, part of a steel plant modernization initiative, helped Vanderbijlpark Steel to reduce key fluxes and alloys, achieve higher steel-production output, and improve steel quality. Vanderbijlpark Steel grants the award each year by in recognition of outstanding project achievements implemented at their steel works.

Vanderbijlpark Steel decided to replace the existing automation system in order to standardize and improve production practices in their oxygen steelmaking plant. VAI was awarded the contract to supply, install and start up Level 2 automation systems for various facilities within the mill, comprising three hot-metal desulphurization stations, three LD converters, two ladle furnaces, one RH (Ruhrstahl-Heraeus) vacuum degassing unit and one ladle-conditioning stand.

One of the main conditions of the project was that ongoing production operations were not to be disrupted. The time required to replace the existing automation system was also to be kept to a minimum. These challenges were met through the successive automation of each plant unit of the respective steelmaking facilities to enable continuous production operations, as well as through extensive workshop testing of the automation systems jointly with Vanderbijlpark Steel personnel prior to delivery.

VAI’s project scope included full integration of the supplied Level 2 automation systems into the planning and scheduling environment of Vanderbijlpark Steel, comprehensive material tracking and documentation throughout the entire meltshop, and installation of the Dynacon system (dynamic blow-end control on the basis of converter offgas analyses) for the three LD converters. VAI also provided a whole suite of metallurgical process models for optimizing production parameters as well as an offline training station for operator training and process analysis.

Vanderbijlpark Steel’s expectations were fully met following installation and start-up of the supplied automation solutions. These included reduced consumption of key fluxes and alloys, shorter tap-to-tap times, a drastic reduction in the number of required reblows, improved and more uniform steel quality from one heat to the next, as well as a significant improvement in overall plant availability.

Mittal Steel South Africa Limited is the main steel producer on the African continent. The company produces approximately seven million tons of liquid steel per annum at four production sites in South Africa (Vanderbijlpark, Saldanha, Vereeniging, Newcastle). Vanderbijlpark Steel is an integrated iron and steel works where roughly 3.7 million tons of liquid steel are produced in three LD vessels and three electric arc furnaces. Continuously cast slabs are hot rolled into either heavy plates in a plate mill, or into coils in a strip mill. Coils are sold as hot-rolled strip or processed further into cold rolled and coated products, such as hot-dip galvanized, electrogalvanized and color-coated sheet, and tinplate. Products are consumed domestically or exported to customers worldwide.

VAI, 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, Linz/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) integrate systems and solutions for industrial and infrastructure facilities and provides global services 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.

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