The Siemens Group Industrial Solutions and Services (I&S) recently received a contract from Rasselstein GmbH, Germany, to upgrade the mechanical and electrical equipment for the organization’s 5-stand Tandem Cold Mill No. 1 in Andernach.
Rasselstein’s 5-stand Tandem Cold Mill No. 1 processes strips with thicknesses ranging from 0.1 to 1.2 mm and serves primarily to produce tinplate less than 0.2 mm thick. A main goal of the modernization is to improve the flatness of the strip, which is important for the subsequent strip-processing steps and final quality of the finished products.
The order comprises the installation of equipment and systems for the fifth mill stand, the mill exit section and the strip-cooling system with the goal of improving the product quality. Mill-stand installations comprise a new entry-strip press, a multi-zone cooling system, flatness control system, strip blow-off system to remove coolant from the strip surface, and a pass-line adjustment system to keep the roller gap at exactly the same level. The scope of supply also includes the associated electrical and automation systems.
The new flatness control system will receive its data from a shapemeter roll. The system will use a mathematical optimization procedure to calculate optimal set-points for tilting, bending and multi-zone cooling. At the mill-exit section, a second shapemeter roll will be installed in addition to a new tension reel. The cooling water systems will be upgraded with new pumps and drives.
Project completion is scheduled for early 2007.
Rasselstein GmbH, a subsidiary of the ThyssenKrupp Steel AG, is the only tinplate manufacturer in Germany, and ranks among the top three European producers. In the fiscal year 2004/2005 the company shipped 1.24 million tonnes of coated and uncoated products, with exports accounting for about 70% of production.
Metals Technologies (MT), 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-rolling sector of the aluminum industry and for open-cast mining. MT, which was created from the integration of Voest-Alpine Industrieanlagenbau, Austria, and the electrical engineering product business and automation solutions of Siemens, 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) is the integrator of systems and solutions for industrial and infrastructure facilities and global service provider for the plant and projects business covering planning, installation, operation and the entire life cycle. I&S uses its own products and systems and process technologies 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 2006 (to September 30) I&S employed a total of 36,200 people worldwide and achieved total sales of EUR 8.819 billion.