Feralpi Siderurgica SpA, based in Lonato (BS), Italy, has placed an order with Siemens VAI Metals Technologies for a new intermediate mill for its rebar rolling mill No. 1. The plant will be able to roll billets with a larger cross-section when the modernization project has been completed in the fall of 2010. This will also increase its production capacity and widen its range of products. more

US company Alton Steel Inc. has become the world's first steel producer to use Siroll Orbis+ to measure the profile of long products. The Siroll Orbis+ fully rotating, on-line gauge for wire rod and bar mills delivers improvements in both product quality and output, while reducing waste. Unlike traditional methods that merely sample a single side, Siroll Orbis+ reviews the entire bar during the rolling process. This enables Siroll Orbis+ to uncover defects when they can be remedied instead of after the product is completed. Orbis, the previous model, has been used by Alton Steel since 1996. more

The new version of the Photometer P15 plus from Siemens Water Technologies has a measured value memory and a real-time clock. It can store the values of up to 16 of the most important water treatment quality parameters, together with their times of measurement. Factors that could impair measurement – such as excess turbidity of the water sample – are automatically detected and displayed. The illuminated display makes the device easy to use, even under difficult conditions. Parameters such as pH value, acid capacity, free and total chlorine content, chlorine dioxide, bromine, ozone and cyanuric acid can be measured quickly, easily and precisely. more

Handan Iron & Steel Co., China, has given Siemens VAI Metals Technologies an order to supply a wire rod outlet for a rolling mill in its Handan Works. The new plant will enable the corporation to enter markets for high-end products. Siemens VAI has contracted with two other Chinese steel companies for rod outlets since July 2009. more

Siemens VAI Metals Technologies has received an order from Hunan Valin Xiangtan Iron & Steel Co. Ltd., a Chinese steelmaker, to supply equipment for a PowerEdger and a pre-leveler. The volume of the contract is in the two-digit million euro range. These new plant components will be installed in the 5 meter plate mill, located in Xiangtan, Hunan Province, which is also being equipped by Siemens. The new plant is scheduled to start producing high-quality plates for shipbuilding and pipeline construction by the end of 2010. The new edger and preleveler are expected to come into operation by the middle of 2011, and will enable the range of products to be widened even further. more

Siemens VAI Metals Technologies received an order from the Russian steel producer Nizhny Tagil Iron & Steel Works (NTMK) to increase the casting capability of the existing two-strand beam-blank/bloom combi-casterCCM3,. The project scope includes the supply of engineering, equipment and systems, installation work and all required modification activities to enable the caster to cast up to four bloom strands in total to meet the increased market demands for rail steel. In the bloom-casting mode, machine capacity will be increased from 700,000 t/a to 1,000,000 t/a. The order value is just under €30 million. Start-up of the modified caster is scheduled for November 2010. more

By acquiring the American company Industrial Process Machinery (IPM), Manchester, New Hampshire, Siemens is continuing to expand its dewatering solutions offering for industrial applications. As of December 31, 2009, IPM is part of Siemens Water Technologies, a Business Unit of the Siemens Industry Solutions Division. In the future, Siemens will offer IPM filter presses worldwide, mainly within the scope of its solutions offering for the mining industry. With more than 100 global installations, IPM provides high-capacity filter presses for slurry dewatering, primarily to the mining and process industries. The purchase price was not disclosed. more

Siemens VAI Metals Technologies put into operation four continuous slab casters comprising a total of seven strands within just four weeks at Zhangjiagang Rong Sheng Co. Ltd. (ZRS), a Chinese steel producer. The CCM4, CCM5 and CCM6 two-strand casters and the CCM7 single-strand, thick-slab caster were equipped with modern key components and technological packages to enable ZRS to cast high-quality slabs for a multitude of industrial applications. more

Siemens VAI Metals Technologies has received an order from Leggett & Platt, Incorporated, Carthage, Missouri, USA, to supply a new coil handling system for a wire rod mill. The coil handling system will be installed at its subsidiary, Sterling Steel LLC in Illinois. The order is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2010. more

The Southern Seawater Joint Venture (SSJV) has awarded Siemens a multi-million dollar contract to provide a 95-MGD (360-MLD) membrane treatment system for Water Corporation’s desalination plant in Binningup, south of Perth, Australia. When completed, the 40-MGD (151-MLD) plant will produce approximately 15% of Perth’s water supply. The existing Perth Seawater Desalination Plant currently provides 17% of Perth’s water supply, and when the Southern Seawater Desalination Plant is commissioned in 2011, a total of approximately 30% of Perth’s water will be supplied from climate-independent sources. more

Siemens VAI Metals Technologies has brought a new continuous slab caster into operation. It was ordered by Gerdau Açominas, a Brazilian steelmaking company which is a member of the Gerdau Group. The plant has already cast slabs of various sizes and steel grades since production started at the Ouro Branco Works in Brazil. With this new plant, Gerdau Açominas can now produce 1.5 million tonnes of high-quality steels for the flat steel market. The acceptance certificate was issued in the middle of October 2009. more

The Siemens Industry Solutions Division has received an order from Mondi Coatings in Vienna to implement a cross-plant manufacturing execution system (MES) for ten production locations. In comparison with conventional production monitoring systems, Sipaper IT MES features direct interfacing to the automation system and monitors all processes in real time. At Mondi Coatings, the system is designed especially to optimize the flow of information between the planning and production levels and to improve production monitoring. Commissioning is planned for the middle of 2010. more

Since end of September 2009, the re-built blast furnace ‘C’ at Tata Steel Ltd´s Jamshedpur works India has been operating with Siemens new Simetal Gimbal Top charging systems. Tata Steel became the world´s first steelmaker to utilize this new charging system on a blast furnace. From furnace fill, through blow-in to its current operating level of 2,000 tonnes of hot metal per day, the top charging system has already completed in excess of 28,000 skip charges without major interruption. The Gimbal Top provides Tata Steel with precise material distribution and the potential of infinite flexibility in the choice of charging patterns. more

The United Arab Shipping Company (UASC), U.A.E., commissioned the Siemens Industry Solutions Division to equip nine of its new-building container ships each with one booster propulsion with shaft generator function and a waste heat recovery energy management system. This order is in line with UASC’s continuous efforts to imbed the latest technologies into its ships and actively contribute to preserving the environment in reducing CO2 emissions. With the aid of waste heat recovery, ships' exhaust gases are converted to electric power. This cuts fuel consumption and reduces CO2 emissions, boosting cost-effectiveness of ship operation and relieving the environment. The order volume is in the two-digit euro millions. The container ships are being built by Samsung Heavy Industries, Korea, and are to commence operations in 2011. more

Siemens Water Technologies has commissioned a wastewater treatment system for the Wuxi Xincheng Plant in China´s Jiangsu Province. An upgrade to the existing wastewater treatment plant, the system includes a Siemens advanced Membrane Biological Reactor (MBR) system. It is producing of 30,000 cubic meters per day of high quality effluent that meets or exceeds the national discharge standard of Class I-A, allowing the treated water to be safely discharged to Taihu Lake. more

The Siemens Industry Solutions Division has developed a video-based software that quickly and effectively detects leaks in an industrial environment. ViaCC enables the recognition of smoke, fumes, leaking liquids and colors. This software based sensor is an extension to conventional sensors in an automated environment and helps avoid production interruptions and losses. more

Siemens has received an order from Wuhan Iron and Steel (Group) Co. (Wisco), a Chinese steelmaker, to equip a coupled tandem pickling line in cold rolling mill no. 1 with energy-saving main drives. The Siroll CM process automation system will also be modernized. The order is worth several million euros. When the project is completed in September 2010, Wisco will also be able to produce high-strength steel grades in the plant. more

The Siemens Division Industry Solutions took over EUtech Energie & Management (E&M) GmbH, headquartered in Aachen, Germany. With the acquisition, Siemens Industry Solutions strengthens its service business in energy and environmental management. EUtech has 20 employees and recently achieved worldwide sales of €1.6 million with consulting services in the energy and environmental area. more

Siemens VAI Metals Technologies received an order from Jindal Steel & Power Ltd (JSPL) for the supply of a new single-strand slab caster which will be built at Angul in the Indian state of Orissa. The machine, which will be equipped with a wide range of technological packages, will be one of the most advanced slab casters in India. Start-up is scheduled for September 2011. more

Altos Hornos de Mexico, S.A.B. de C.V. (AHMSA) has awarded Siemens a contract to modernize their existing basic and process automation systems on their Monclova Hot Strip Mill. Siemens will supply and install modern automation technology based on the Siroll HM platform, which is specifically designed for hot rolling mills. The total value of the order is 21 million US dollars and the project is due to be completed in the summer of 2011. more