Worldwide business with plate and aluminium rolling mills

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Erlangen/Germany (Siemens) – Siemens Metals Technologies has combined its two UK locations in Sheffield and Christchurch into a special subdivision called “Plate & Aluminium Rolling”, which will be responsible under the new management of Hans-Werner Linne for worldwide business with plate and aluminium rolling mills. “The rapidly growing worldwide demand for heavy plate is also boosting project business with rolling mills”, Linne explained at a media conference held in Sheffield on Friday. The sudden expansion of capacities worldwide has primarily been driven by a surge in demand in the area of shipbuilding and pipeline projects. “In the last two years, we have more than doubled new orders”, Linne said. “With the competencies and experience of the 450 employees in Sheffield and Christchurch plus the additional engineering resources of our partners and colleagues around the world, we have now created the preconditions for further growth in the future”, emphasized Linne.
“There are plans to construct new plants,especially in China, India and Russia, whereas, in Europe and North America, the focus is on modernization. Improving the performance of existing plants here will make a significant contribution towards enhancing productivity and thus satisfying rising demand.” This, he says, will involve expansion in the scope of maintenance solutions on offer as well as a wider range of services for plant modernization. “To this end, we have now set up a Plate Mill Consulting Group in Sheffield in order to expand our spectrum of products, solutions and services and strengthen our leading position in modernization business “,Linne said. In this segment the new business unit has shares of 42% in the plate mill market and of 48% in the alu mill market. The task of the company is to take action in a time of booming 'greenfield' projects in order to adequately prepare for the market in the future. “In the medium term, we are expecting a sharp increase in modernization business”, said Linne.
Apart from expanding the portfolio, Linne feels that the introduction of new process technologies for optimizing individual stages of production will be an additional lever for enhancing the company's position in the market. An example quoted by Linne is the development of the Mulpic technology for micro-alloyed plate, one of the most versatile materials for demanding applications such as in shipbuilding or pipe manufacturing. In these cases, not only exact monitoring of the rolling process is necessary but also precise control of the subsequent cooling procedure. Mulpic technology enables operators of plate rolling mills to produce all kinds of micro-alloyed materials – including API (American Petroleum Institute) steel grades – on the conventional process route. As a result, the metallurgical properties of the heavy plate can be controlled immediately after the roll stand. This is done by means of precipitation hardening or methods for reducing the grain size. “For our customers”, said Linne, “this means greater flexibility in production and a manageable investment”.

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