Sumitomo Okays Siemens Mulpic Cooling System on Plate Mill
02/04/2011 - Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd. recently gave Siemens VAI Metals Technologies the final acceptance certificate for the Mulpic® (Multi-Purpose-interrupted-Cooling) system installed in the plate rolling mill at their Kashima Works.
Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd. recently gave Siemens VAI Metals Technologies the final acceptance certificate for the Mulpic® (Multi-Purpose-interrupted-Cooling) system installed in the plate rolling mill at their Kashima Works.
Sumitomo is the first Japanese steelmaker to choose Mulpic for the production of high quality plates for shipbuilding and pipe production. The cooling system was part of an extensive modernization of the heavy-plate line in Kashima, and will improve the output and quality of the products even further.
Installation of the intensive cooling system in Sumitomo’s Kashima Works was completed following a planned 25-day plant shutdown in the summer of 2010, which included the removal of an existing cooling system. Mulpic’s modular design philosophy helped to reduce installation time, and the Final Acceptance was achieved with all guarantees passed.
“We were pleased to sign off Final Acceptance on schedule,” commented Tatsuo Tanaka of Sumitomo Metal Industries. “Through effective collaboration between all parties; Siemens VAI, our engineer and constructors, cold commissioning was completed in record time”.
The Siemens solution included features such as edge masking, head and tail masking, and water crown control, as well as the automation system for precise and uniform control of the cooling process in the production of modern materials. Mulpic has a wide control range, which provides high cooling rates, including direct quenching of the plates, to control the microstructure and thus the mechanical properties in the final plate. In addition to equipment supply, Siemens VAI will provide training and process consultancy services.
Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd. has head offices in Osaka and Tokyo, and is part of the Sumitomo Group. The company produces heavy plate, titanium and structural steels, pipes and tubes. It also supplies the railway, automotive and mechanical engineering industries. The company runs the Kashima Steels Works in the town of Kashima, in the Ibaraki Prefecture of Japan. This is an integrated production facility with a steelmaking capacity of around 8 million tonnes per annum.
The Siemens Industry Sector (Erlangen, Germany) is a leading international supplier of environmentally friendly production, transportation, building and lighting technologies. The Sector comprises six divisions: Building Technologies, Drive Technologies, Industry Automation, Industry Solutions, Mobility and Osram. With around 204,000 employees worldwide (September 30), Siemens Industry achieved in fiscal year 2010 total sales of approximately €34.9 billion.
The Siemens Industry Solutions Division (Erlangen, Germany) is one of the world's leading solution and service providers for industrial and infrastructure facilities comprising the business activities of Siemens VAI Metals Technologies, Water Technologies and Industrial Technologies. Activities include engineering and installation, operation and service for the entire life cycle. With around 29,000 employees worldwide (September 30), Siemens Industry Solutions posted sales of €6.0 billion in fiscal year 2010.
