Danieli Automation Revamp for Columbus Stainless Slab Caster, South Africa

Acerinox, a global stainless steel manufacturing group, contracted Danieli Automation for the electrical and automation revamp of the stainless steel slab caster at Columbus Stainless (Pty) Ltd., Mpumalanga, South Africa.

The plant produces austenitic stainless steel, ferritic stainless steel, and duplex stainless in plate, sheet, coil and strip. 

The 1990s-era CCM currently is a production bottleneck for the plant, with a maximum casting capacity of 72,000 t/month.

The turnkey project will include:

— New PLC and SCADA systems;

— Converting 18 motors/drives from DC to AC power supply; and,

— Complete replacement of Level 2 with Danieli Automation Q-CAST, including the Q-ART, Q-CUT, Q-MIX and Q-COOL technological packages.

With less than six months from the order to the restart of the plant, and only two weeks of shut down, this project represents an important challenge for Danieli Automation.