Outokumpu Stainless AB has awarded SMS Siemag, Germany, a contract for the supply of a heat treatment line for stainless steel plates. This expansion will allow the Outokumpu Stainless works in Degerfors, Sweden, to boost its production of heat treated plates and improve the product quality. The new equipment will start operation in 2013.

SMS Siemag’s supply includes two heat treatment furnaces with the relating handling machinery, a roller quench as well as the electrical and automation equipment for these facilities, plus the integration of the heat treatment line into the upstream and downstream operations.

The two heat treatment furnaces will be specifically tailored to the wide product portfolio of Outokumpu Stainless. The furnaces will be capable of heat treating plates with a maximum length of 16 m. The maximum annealing temperature will be above 1,200 °C.

The furnaces will be designed to meet latest environmental requirements with a special focus on low NOx emissions.

By coupling the heat treatment line with the rolling mill by new roller tables and transfer beds, plates can be directly charged into the furnaces at rolling temperature. This makes the heat treatment much more energy-efficient. The new roller quench is capable of cooling two plates at a time and independently of each other.

For the electrical and automation system SMS Siemag supplies the complete drive systems including frequency converters and MCC (Motor Control Center) as well as the level 1 system. This includes, among others, the tracking system and the visualization of the processes in the HMI (Human Machine Interface). As SMS Siemag is currently also supplying the automation system for a new 9/5 cold plate leveler, the whole area will eventually operate with X-Pact® automation.