Steel Times International Digital August 2021

INNOVATIONS

INDUSTRY NEWS ROUND-UP

OPINION

DIGITALIZATION

Ten pages of the latest new products and recent contracts

A seven-page round-up of the latest global steel industry news

Know why, not just how, says UCL’s Professor Bilal Gokpinar

Safer and smarter mining with ArcelorMittal’s iSMART tool

Since 1866

www.steeltimesint.com Digital Edition - August 2021 - No.19

WHAT IS A SUSTAINABLE SUPPLY CHAIN?

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CONTENTS – DIGITAL EDITION AUGUST 2021

INNOVATIONS

INDUSTRY NEWS ROUND-UP

OPINION

DIGITALIZATION

Ten pages of the latest new products and recent contracts

A seven-page round-up of the latest global steel industry news

Know why, not just how, says UCL’s Professor Bilal Gokpinar

Safer and smarter mining with ArcelorMittal’s iSMART tool

Since 1866

www.steeltimesint.com Digital Edition - August 2021 - No.19

Front cover photo courtesy of Kocks.

1

2 Leader

by Matthew Moggridge.

32 Innovations Special: Sandvik A solid way to overcome microdefects.

4 News round-up Seven pages of the latest global steel news.

35 Supply chain What is a sustainable supply chain?

KOCKS RSB 370/4 in 5.0 design currently operating in China.

WHAT IS A SUSTAINABLE SUPPLY CHAIN?

EDITORIAL Editor Matthew Moggridge Tel: +44 (0) 1737 855151 matthewmoggridge@quartzltd.com Consultant Editor Dr. Tim Smith PhD, CEng, MIM Production Editor Annie Baker Advertisement Production Martin Lawrence SALES International Sales Manager Paul Rossage paulrossage@quartzltd.com Tel: +44 (0) 1737 855116 Sales Director Ken Clark kenclark@quartzltd.com Tel: +44 (0) 1737 855117

12 Opinion Know why, not just know how.

40 Digitalization Digitalization for safer, smarter mining operations, says ArcelorMittal.

16 Innovation Ten pages of new products and contract news.

45 History Romania’s Resita Ironworks in the 20th century by Romulus Loan.

30 Innovations Special: Street crane Street Crane celebrates 75 uplifting years.

Managing Director Tony Crinion tonycrinion@quartzltd.com Tel: +44 (0) 1737 855164 Chief Executive Officer Steve Diprose

32

SUBSCRIPTION Elizabeth Barford Tel +44 (0) 1737 855028 Fax +44 (0) 1737 855034 Email subscriptions@quartzltd.com Steel Times International is published eight times a year and is available on subscription. Annual subscription: UK £178.00 Other countries: £254.00 2 years subscription: UK £320.00 Other countries: £457.00 ) Single copy (inc postage): £40.00 Email: steel@quartzltd.com Published by: Quartz Business Media Ltd, Quartz House, 20 Clarendon Road, Redhill, Surrey, RH1 1QX, England.

Tel: +44 (0)1737 855000 Fax: +44 (0)1737 855034 www.steeltimesint.com Steel Times International (USPS No: 020-958) is published monthly except Feb, May, July, Dec by Quartz Business Media Ltd and distributed in the US

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2

LEADER

Steelmakers leading the charge in climate battle

Matthew Moggridge Editor matthewmoggridge@quartzltd.com

Climate change, greenhouse gas emissions, global warming, are all words and phrases that are now well-worn and commonplace around the world; everybody’s talking about the environment and how we can avert the seemingly inevitable natural disasters caused by human interference with eco-systems and the well-being of the planet. And while there are some people who don’t believe a word of it – normally right-leaning politicians and the businessmen who support them – the general view is that the planet is warming up, we’re experiencing extreme weather in the form of flooding, high winds and so forth and it’s about time we sorted it out.

The steel industry, we are told, accounts for something like 7% of global emissions and in my opinion the industry has done more than its fair share to make steel production a lot ‘greener’ than it has been in the past. In fact, when we talk about environmental issues and the steel industry it’s worth pointing out – and underlining – that steel is the most recycled material in the world; and because it is magnetic, it is easy to recover from almost any waste stream. Did you

know that energy consumption per tonne of steel has been reduced by 61% since the 1960s, contributing a significant decrease in CO2 intensity, according to the World Steel Association’s Steel Facts, a small but perfectly formed booklet offering all sorts of information on the greatness of steel.

It is heartening to see that there’s plenty going on: ArcelorMittal is building a zerocarbon steel plant in Gijon, Spain; Baowu Steel in China hopes to raise billions for an array of carbon neutral projects designed to bring the country’s GHG emissions under control; Gerdau and Shell have formed a solar power joint venture and will supply clean energy to Gerdau’s steel mills; Hyundai Steel in South Korea is examining how shellfish and oyster shells can be recycled and used in the sintering process instead of limestone; Russian steelmaker MMK plans to reduce emissions by 3.9Mt by 2025; it’s a neverending story of innovation on top of what the plant builders are developing in terms of equipment designed to reduce the environmental impact of the steelmaking process. Recently, I’ve been over-using the phrase “it’s all good”, but it’s the truth.

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4

• Italian plant builder Tenova is to supply a decarburization and coating line to VIZ-Stahl, part of the NLMK Group, for its plant in Ekaterinburg in Russia. The contract was awarded through Tenova LOI Thermprocess. The new line, claims Tenova, will provide one of the important stages of grain-oriented electrical strip production; final steel processing will be carried out at a newly built plant in India.

Source: Tenova, 5 July 2021

• RHI Magnesita, a leading player in refractories, and Gerdau, the largest steel producer in Brazil, are joining forces for a joint project using blockchain technology.

The project, called Refrac Chain, is designed to measure performance contracts between RHI Magnesita and Gerdau. All data and transactions, which were previously tracked manually, will be recorded in blockchain. A dedicated programme will make financial calculations and measurements.

Source, RHI Magnesita, 6 July 2021

Digital Edition - August 2021

NEWS ROUND-UP

• Sumitomo Metal Mining Company of Japan has announced plans to spend 47 billion yen (US$424 million) on a new nickel-based cathode materials plant in Besshi, Ehime prefecture.

Most of the money (around 40 billion yen) will be invested in the facility in western Japan and the remainder will be used to expand production capacity of precursor materials at the company’s Harima refinery, in Hyogo prefecture, also in western Japan. In terms of monthly production capacities, the company currently produces 5,000 tonnes of cathode materials and will increase that figure to 7,000 tonnes by 2025 and to 10,000 tonnes by 2027, it is claimed.

Source: Reuters, 6 July 2021

•Russian steelmaker Abinsk Electric Steelworks has placed a new order with Danieli for the supply of two ESS energysaving cantilever stands, which will be installed at the company's Abinsk production site in the Krasnodar region.

Source: Danieli, 6 July 2021.

• Tata Steel in India plans to increase its annual production capacity in India from 34Mt today to 55Mt by 2030, which is 73% of global production.

It is estimated that the company’s business in India will account for 75% of revenue.

Source: Livemint.com, 6 July 2021

• A 60kt cathode material plant is to be built by POSCO Chemical in the city of Pohang, South Korea, to service growing demand for electric vehicles. There were no details on when plant construction would commence or finish, but once in operation the plant will enable POSCO to produce 160kt/yr of cathodes, enough to supply 1.8 million electric vehicles. The company already operates two cathode plants in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, and in Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province. LG Energy Solution and General Motors are major partners and there are plans to build plants in the US (Ohio and Tennessee) and in Europe.

Source: Korea Times, 8 July 2021

• ThyssenKrupp AG has received orders from the German and Norwegian navies for a total of six Type 212CD submarines, two for the German navy and four for the Norwegian navy.

Construction will start in 2023 and the Norwegians will take delivery of their first sub in 2029. Germany’s two subs will be delivered in 2032 and 2034.

Source: Market Watch.com, 8 July 2021

• EVRAZ North America has broken ground on a US$480 million rail rolling plant in Pueblo, Colorado, creating 800 construction jobs from now until February 2023, according to an online media report. The new plant will enable the steelmaker to produce longer rails.

Source: The Pueblo Chieftan, 8 July 2021

For more global steel news, log on to our news website, www.steeltimesint.com www.steeltimesint.com

NEWS ROUND-UP

• Indian steelmakers JSW and Tata Steel are planning a mega-spending spree as the pandemic starts to recede and global demand (largely from the US and Europe) begins to pick up, according to Nikkei Asia. Combined expenditure of roughly 850 billion rupees ($11.4 billion) is expected. JSW plans to modernize plants and expand capacity while Tata Steel intends to strengthen its balance sheet and complete its cold rolling mill and pellet plant in Kalinganagar over the next 12 months. Tata’s Koushik Chatterjee, executive director and CFO, said it was a balancing act between capex and debt repayment.

Source: Nikkei Asia, 9 July 2021

• Christy Lopez, 43, has recently embarked upon a three-year prison sentence with the Arizona Department of Corrections for stealing a quarter of a million dollars from her former employer, Nucor Corporation. Financial desperation led Ms Lopez to start embezzling money back in the summer of 2015, it was alleged. While her defence attorney wanted probation, the prosecutor wanted a more stringent sentence. Mohave County Superior Court Judge, Rick Lambert, agreed. Lopez claims her theft was the worse thing she’d ever done.

“I just did something dumb,” she said. Source Mohave Valley Daily News, 9 July 2021 • Ram Chandra Prasad Singh has been appointed as India’s Steel Minister, taking over from Dharmendra Pradhan who has moved to the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. Singh has said he will analyse and learn things before he starts talking about his priorities in the new role.

Source: Business today, 11 July 2021

• An EU carbon border tax for steel products that emit more carbon emissions than those made by EU member states takes effect in 2023 and is of great concern to the South Korean steel industry.

South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has initiated a study to assess the potential impact of the tax as the South Korean steel industry is heavily reliant upon exports and is a ‘high emitter of carbon’.

Source: The Korea Times, 11 July 2021

• And talking of POSCO, the company has posted a Q2 operating profit of 2.2 trillion won ($1.9 billion). Quarterly sales were up 32.9% and it looks very much like the company’s best performance since 2010 in terms of consolidated operating profit.

Source: Korea JoongAng Daily, 9 July 2021

Australia-based mining company Rio Tinto and South Korean steelmaker POSCO are to jointly explore, develop and demonstrate low carbon emissions technology. The two companies have signed a MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) and intend to explore various technologies across the steel value chain, starting with iron ore mining. The aim of both businesses is to be net zero by 2050. Source: Steel Orbis, 9 July 2021 www.steeltimesint.com

5

MMK Metalurji based in Turkey and a part of the Russian steel group MMK, has started hot tests at its electric arc furnace facility with a casting and rolling module.

Metalurji operates an electric arc furnace facility with a casting and rolling module, a cold-rolling mill, galvanizing and colour coating lines, as well as two service centres in Iskenderun and Istanbul.

The Iskenderun production site also features a seaport that can accommodate ships of up to 100,000 deadweight tonnage Source: MMK, 12 July 2021

• ArcelorMittal, JSW Steel, Tata Steel and Megha Engineering and Infrastructure (Meil) are among the companies lining up to buy Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd, a state-owned steelmaker with its own captive power plant.

The company has been India’s largest exporter of pig iron since 2004 and is located in Kalinganagar in the state of Odisha.

Source: Livemint.com, 12 July 2021 Digital Edition - August 2021

6

NEWS ROUND-UP

• US steel mills achieved capacity utilisation rates of 83.6% for the week ending 10 July, the highest since the week ending 22 September 2008, says a report by Argus Media based on data supplied by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). The latest figures were up on the week prior, which recorded 83%, which was more than 23 points higher than the 60.3% recorded over the same period in 2020, it is claimed.

Source: ArgusMedia.com, 12 July 2021

• ArcelorMittal SA is to build the world’s first large-scale zero-carbon steel plant having signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Spanish government for one billion Euros ($1.2 billion). The plant will be based in Gijon and will process iron ore using green hydrogen. The steel produced will supply a steel mill in Sestao that will use renewable electricity to produce 1.6Mt/yr of carbonfree steel.

Source: Bloomberg, 13 July 2021

• ArcelorMittal Liberia has made another medical supplies donation to the Liberian Government, this time totalling some $47,000 dollars. The initial consignment included 30 oxygen cannisters and 30 medical regulators. PCR COVID test kits totalling 3,500 units have been ordered.

The company’s head of Government relations said that the latest consignment of supplies was a continuation of previous support given by the steelmaker.

Source: All Africa.com, 13 July 2021

• Cyber threats have grown at an alarming rate over the first half of 2021, according to a new market report.

Attacks have been driven largely by the emergence of Ransomware as a Service (RaaS) gangs that are cashing in on critical infrastructure organisations.

Source: Nozomi Networks, 15 July 2021

Global production of molybdenum rose by 2% to 146 mlbs when compared to the same quarter of 2020, although this represented a 10% fall when compared to the previous quarter, according to figures released by the International Molybdenum Association (IMOA).

Source: IMOA, 14 July 2021

The European Commission was expected to put forward its Fit for 55 package of climate and energy policy measures on 14 July 2021.

According to the European Steel Association (EUROFER) the Fit for 55 package is one of the most significant – and largest – groups of measures the EU has ever released in one go.

Source: EUROFER, 13 July 2013

Digital Edition - August 2021

• Metinvest, an international vertically integrated group of steel and mining companies, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Austrian K1-MET, a competence centre for the development of advanced metallurgical and environmental processes. Together the two companies will develop joint projects aimed at addressing environment and climate-related challenges. The MoU was signed at the International Decarbonisation Forum in Kyiv, Ukraine, last month. Source: Metinvest, 14 July 2021 • Supply route disruption caused by unrest in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces have forced ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) to declare force majeure – meaning that circumstances outside of its control are preventing the company from fulfilling its contractual and delivery obligations. The problems in the region have affected highways and transport routes linking the two provinces as well as bringing transport to a halt on the KwaZulu-Natal freight corridor to and from the town of Newcastle where AMSA’s Newcastle works is based. Source: SP Global Platts, 15 July 2021

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NEWS ROUND-UP

7

• China is getting tough with Henan and Yunnan provinces as they have failed, in the Government’s eyes, to live up to the expectations of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and the general public. Hotlines and inspection teams were brought into play, spot checks were initiated and those responsible for not coming up to scratch faced dismissal or even detention.

Rectification plans have been requested from the two offending states and all sorts of horrors await those who fail to rectify the problems. Source: Channel News Asia, 16 July 2021 • Recent heavy weather in Germany, especially flooding, has disrupted logistics at a number of steel businesses.

Cold roller Bilstein declared force majeure, claiming that heavy rain and storms have caused damage, product defects and production facility breakdowns. Some of the company’s suppliers were also affected. ThyssenKrupp, ArcelorMittal and stockholder Becker Stahl have also been affected, claims S&P Global.

Source: S&P Global Platts, 15 July 2021

• ArcelorMittal claims that new DRI and EAF installations in Gijón will reduce carbon emissions at the company’s Spanish operations by roughly 50%. It is further claimed that the Gijón installation will enable ArcelorMittal Sestao to be the world’s first full-scale zero carbon emissions steel plant. Source: ArcelorMittal, 16 July 2021

• Russian steelmaker MMK has launched a reconstructed twin-stand reversing cold mill 1700, supplied by the German plant builder SMS group in 2002. SMS started revamp work on the mill in February 2020. The mill’s electronics were the responsibility of Austrian plant builder Primetals Technologies and IMS, who acted as sub-contractors on the project. The revamped mill is located in Russia’s Chelyabinsk region in the industrial city of Magnitogorsk. Source: MMK, 16 July 2021

• In an effort to progress developments in hydrogenbased technologies, two leading South Korean steelmakers (POSCO and Hyundai Steel) have joined forces to form the H2 Challenge, an open innovation platform designed to identify those businesses and academics actively working on hydrogen-related projects. One such organisation, Hyundai CRADLE Berlin is focused on ‘disruptive innovation’ in the European region.

Source: h2-view.com, 16 July 2021

• Chinese steelmaker Baowu Steel Group hopes to raise 50 billion yuan (US$7.73 billion) to fund the development of carbon-neutral projects designed to bring China’s greenhouse gas emissions under control. Now billed as ‘the world’s biggest steelmaker’, Baowu Steel is partnered by China Pacific Insurance, the National Green Development Fund and CCB Financial Investment. The phase one target is 10 billion yuan.

Source: South China Morning Post, 16 July 2021

• Tata Steel’s Jharia division in India has developed a state-of-the-art 2Mt/yr coal preparation plant and a 400 kVA Uninterupted Power Supply (UPS) at the Jamadoba colliery. What was once the oldest running washery in Asia is now the most cutting edge facility on the planet, claims the Indian steel giant.

The UPS backs up the mine’s ventilation fan, enhancing safety and providing miners with a more comfortable working environment.

Source: Business-Standard. com, 16 July 2021

• US steel giant Nucor Corporation says it will reduce its GHG emissions to 77% less than today’s global average, according to a report by Recycling Today. Nucor’s emissions are 0.47 tons of CO2 per ton of steel compared with the global average of 1.69 tons. Integrated mills average 2.15 tons.

Nucor says its GHG emissions density will be 0.38 tons of CO2 per ton of steel by 2030 and that, beyond that date, the company will head for net-zero. Source: Recycling Today, 16 July 2021 www.steeltimesint.com

Digital Edition - August 2021

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NEWS ROUND-UP

• A mass production system for 9% nickel steel plates has been developed by South Korean steelmaker Hyundai Steel. The company has started to supply the product to its corporate customers. 9% nickel steel plates offer high resistance to shocks and are easy to weld even in temperatures of minus 196 degrees. The steel is widely used for LNG storage, according to a report by Business Korea.

Source: Business Korea, 16 July 2021.

• Brazilian steelmaker Gerdau and Shell Brazil have formed a solar power joint venture with a view to developing a photovoltaic park in Brasilandia de Minas.

Known as the Aquarii park, the faciiity will supply clean energy to Gerdau’s steelmaking facilities and the rest will be sold to the free market by Shell.

Source: The Rio Times, 18 July 2021

• Burning hydrogen produced by decomposing ammonia and using it to operate gas turbines is something that South Korean steelmaker POSCO is currently hoping to develop in collaboration with Doosan Heavy Industries and the Pohangbased Research Institute of Industrial Science & Technology.

Because ammonia is a compound of one nitrogen atom bonded to three hydrogen atoms, it is thought that ammonia is an optimal transportation mode for hydrogen.

Source: Korea Times, 19 July 2021.

• Hyundai Steel is looking into how shellfish and oyster shells can be recycled and used in the process of sintering instead of limestone. As one of Asia’s biggest oyster farming countries, South Korea is having problems with large amounts of shellfish/ oyster shell waste on its southern coast. To counter the problem and improve and reduce productivity and furnace costs respectively, Hyundai has conducted successful tests and is now seeking approval from the National Institute of Environmental Research.

Shells can reduce air pollutant discharge from steel mills, it is claimed.

Source: Aju Business Daily, 20 July 2021

• The Fit for 55 package, released yesterday by the European Commission, needs a more finely balanced approach to enable the decarbonisation of the EU steel industry while avoiding the leakage of production and CO2 emissions outside of the EU, says EUROFER. Source: EUROFER, 18 July 2021

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9

• Russian steelmaker PAO Severstal has increased its revenue 33% quarter-onquarter to $2.9 billion with EBITDA reaching $1.6 billion (42% quarter-on-quarter). The company’s EBITDA margin increased to 55.9%.

Source: Severstal, 20 July 2021

• Britain’s manufacturers were seeing their dependence on the EU as an export market decline even before the impact of full departure and the agreement of a trade deal, according to analysis of manufacturing performance published by Make UK and business advisory company BDO LLP. Source: Make UK, 21 July 2021

• The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) has reported that for the month of May 2021, US steel mills shipped 7.98Mt (net tons), a 46.2% increase from the 5.46Mt (net tons) shipped in May 2020.

Shipments were up 1.8% from the 7.84Mt (net tons) shipped in the previous month, April 2021. Shipments year-to-date in 2021 are 37.93Mt (net tons) a 7.8% increase versus 2020 shipments of 35.19Mt (net tons) for five months.

Source: AISI, 20 July 2021 • Russian steelmaker MMK plans to reduce its CO2 emissions by 3.9Mt by 2025 in comparison to 2020 levels.

The company claims to use the best available technologies and develops innovative production methods in its quest to be a more climatefriendly steelmaker.

Source: MarketScreener, 21 July 2021 Digital Edition - August 2021

10 NEWS ROUND-UP

• Cold rolled and galvanized flat steel products with a 66% reduced CO2 footprint will be delivered to German car manufacturer Mercedes Benz.

The products, from Salzgitter Flachstahl are produced by electric arc furnace and have attracted a lot of interest from a variety of customers.

Source: S&P Global Platts, 22, July 2021 • Steel Authority of India Ltd’s Bokaro steel mill fell victim to a fire last month, but there were no casualties and the fire was quickly brought under control. The cause was a leaking torpedo ladle in Blast Furnace 2. Hot metals spilled on the tracks and started the fire, it is claimed.

Source: India TV News, 23 July 2021

• Dnipro Coke, a metcoke producer controlled by Metinvest, has acquired by auction PJSC Dneprovsky Iron & Steel Intergrated Works for UAH9.17 billion ($340 million).

The purchase will enable Metinvest to expand its product mix.

Source: Ukrainian News, 26 July 2021

• PERED technology, developed by the Iranian Mines and Metals Company (MME) has been introduced to China. The technology – Persian Direct Reduction – produces gas-based sponge iron. The Iranians have struck a deal with China’s CSTM Company to construct the country’s first gas-based sponge iron plant, which will have a 300kt/yr capacity and be based in Taiyuan city.

PERED technology is already used across Iran, including Shadegan Steel, Miyaneh Steel, Neyriz Steel and Baft Steel.

Source: Tehran Times, 26 July 2021

• Indian steelmaker JSW Steel claims that output slipped from April through June, dropping 2% from the previous quarter due to the diversion of liquid oxygen to hospitals and medical facilities during the second wave of COVID-19. Total production rose 38.5% to 4.1Mt, capacity utilisation fell 2% from 93% between January and March to 91% between April and June.

Demand is expected to pick up, the company said.

Source: Argus Media, 26 July 2021 Digital Edition - August 2021

• Following complaints from residents in Portland, Texas, about black dust landing on their properties, steelmaker voestalpine claims it is now implementing a new programme through which it will contact those affected and will offer a clean-up service.

The company’s analysis of the dust proves it to be harmless and with similar properties to some soils. However, that hasn’t stopped voestalpine asking the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to amend its air permit.

Source: KRIS 6 News, 27 July 2021

• ArcelorMittal and the Government of Canada have announced a CAD$1.7 billion investment in decarbonisation technologies. The aim is to reduce CO2 emissions at the steelmaker’s Hamilton, Ontario steel mill by around 3Mt (or 60% of emissions) within a three-year period. The plant will move away from being BF-based and will rely instead upon DRI and electric arc furnace production.

Source: Oil & Gas 360, 30 July 2021

• Tata Steel in India is planning to use electric vehicles to transport steel. The company has contracted 27 EVs with a carrying capacity per vehicle of 35 tons of steel.

Fifteen will be stationed at Jamshedpur, 12 at Sahibabad and the first to be put into operation will run between Tata’s Sahibabad plant and the Pilkhuwa Stockyard in Uttar Pradesh.

Source: Renewable Energy Magazine, 2 August 2021

• US Wind has announced plans to build a steel plant outside of Baltimore, USA. The steel produced would be used to construct one of the largest offshore wind farms on the East Coast of the USA, according to an online media report. The plant, which would be known as Momentum Wind and Sparrows Point Steel, fits in with the USA’s offshore wind energy boom.

If approved the new facility would generate up to 1,200 MW in total and create hundreds of union jobs in the area.

Source: Energy Wire, 4 August 2021 www.steeltimesint.com

NEWS ROUND-UP

Climate Action 100+ signatory investors, which is claimed to be the world’s largest investor engagement initiative on climate change as it represents over USD $55 trillion in assets, has set out the actions that it believes must be taken by the steel industry if it is to decarbonise in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Source: Climate Action, 5 August 2021

• The GFG Alliance has settled two disputes, one with Tata Steel in India involving an unpaid debt following Liberty Steel’s £100 million takeover of Tata’s speciality steel business in 2017. The other dispute was with Rio Tinto and linked to Liberty’s purchase of a Dunkirk aluminium smelter.

Source: Largs & Millport Weekly News, 5 August 2021

• Following on from the sale of its mining business to Denmark’s FL Smidth, German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp has announced the sale of its infrastructure unit to the German investment firm FMC Beteiligungs KG. ThyssenKrupp Infrasture employs 480 people and generated 140 million euros ($166 million) in the 2019/2020 fiscal year.

Source: Reuters, 5 August 2021

• Gerdau is planning to spend $500 million on capacity expansion at its Ouro Branco HRC and structural profile mill. The company plans to earmark $200 million for HRC rolling mill expansion and $300 million on a structural profile project. The plan is to set up a 250kt/yr HRC rolling mill at Ouro Branco, upping total capacity ot 1.1Mt/yr, according to CEO Gustavo Werneck. Source: Steel Orbis, 5 August 2021

• Italian plant builder Tenova, has successfully started up two 400 tonnes/hr walking beam furnaces at Ternium’s new hot strip mill facility in Pesqueria, Mexico. Ternium, a leading steel manufacturer in the Americas, produces and processes a wide range of steel products.

Source: Tenova, 6 August 2021 • Chinese steelmaker Shagang Group Anyang Yongxing Special Steel has acquired Huixin Special Steel.

Source: Steel Orbis, 6 August 2021

11

• Nucor Steel Connecticut brings a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘a family business’. The company claims that NUCOR stands for Nephews, Uncles, Cousins, and other Relatives and cites the story of Miguel Aguirre who recently retired from the business after 25 years of service. His son, also called Miguel, recently took over his father’s role. A banner on the side of the steelmaker’s Toelles Road site reads ‘Family Stronger than steel’, highlighting the different families that work there.

MyRecordJournal.com, 9 August 2021

• The world’s first ultraviolet oxidation plant in the steel industry has been opened by Tata Steel BSL at its Odisha Dhenkanal facility in India. The technology will be used to treat cyanide in coke oven wastewater and replaces a sludge separation system, which can lead to cyanide toxicity via toxic sludge decomposition.

Source: Construction Week Online, 9 August 2021

• Ukrainian steel and mining company Metinvest has released trading results for the second quarter of 2021 and the first half of the year. The figures show that crude steel production for Q2 2021 stood at 2.29Mt, up 5% on Q1. During H1 2021 the company produced 4.3Mt, up 10% on the same period last year. Output was up in Q2 because of an increase in volume of130kt at the company’s Azovstal facility. Source: Metinvest, 4 August 2021 www.steeltimesint.com

Digital Edition - August 2021

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OPINION

Know why, not just know how

Boosting innovation in frontline manufacturing and developing ‘know why’ in teams. By Professor Bilal Gokpinar* of the UCL School of Management, University College London

* Professor of operations, technology, and innovation at the UCL School of Management at University College London. b.gokpinar@ucl.ac.uk

OPINION

DIGITALISATION is reshaping manufacturing as we know it, as the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) blurs the boundaries between the physical and digital worlds. How do we foster manufacturing innovation in this new world? To make a profit many firms rely on their ability to repeatedly push performance boundaries by making small adjustments to products, processes and machinery. While research and development programmes play an important role in manufacturing innovation, many improvements are created by frontline employees with first-hand production knowledge.

My fellow academics Philipp B. Cornelius (Rotterdam School of Management), Fabian J. Sting (University of Cologne) and I engaged in a large-scale study of a multi-national, multi-billion-euro car parts manufacturer. We collected data on frontline ideas and their economic impact over four years while examining the relationship with individual worker mobility. We analysed 21,000 ideas submitted by almost 2,500 workers.

The key aspect of this analytical approach was matching mobile frontline employees to similar workers who did not travel to other plants, which enabled us to precisely estimate the contributions originating from mobility.

Beyond performing their core duties, workers increasingly create value to broader organisational objectives such as competitiveness and innovation. Team members with creativity and aptitude for problem-solving, paired with their frontline perspectives, often generate promising process improvements and business opportunities that would not have been apparent to managers. Ultimately, frontline innovation has become one of the largest sources of sustained competitive advantage in manufacturing industries.

The majority of productivity gains can be traced back to non-research and development employees – studies suggest up to 75% at leading firms. While this is fairly common, the methods by which managers can most effectively support it

know why

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are not understood. Our study revealed that strategic frontline mobility, the short, focused and purposeful exchange of staff between different company sites, can boost contributions to innovations and organisational learning in manufacturing.

Transferring knowledge There are two ways through which frontline mobility fosters innovation. Firstly, it promotes knowledge sharing between factories. Shop floor employees, by virtue of experience, possess a level of understanding that exceeds what is covered in manuals or readily apparent to managers. For example, it’s the workers on the ground that learn first-hand to streamline impractical processes and product designs.

When teams are deployed to different sites, they carry this knowledge and help share it within different factories. One particular factory might have gleaned extensive experience with a specific production method, and by temporarily assigning employees to other factories, managers can ensure this knowledge is shared. Similarly, when these employees return, they can bring back ideas inspired by the processes at other factories. Our research found the average move in our client company created manufacturing improvements worth more than 100,000 euros in one month.

Secondly, when teams visit other manufacturing plants, they are exposed to different but often related manufacturing set-ups. Think of a plant that produces the same product as their home factory, but for a different market with different machinery. As workers observe how different set-ups are linked to various performance outcomes, they acquire a more fundamental understanding of how these processes work.

Developing ‘know-why’ alongside know how Consider the injection moulding process, which was a key operation at the company we studied. The minimum heating time of thermoplastic material for a specific mould (five minutes) is know-how. However, understanding why that time threshold has to change when the mould design becomes more complex, is what we refer to as ‘know-why’. Once acquired, this knowledge significantly improves employees’ ability to come up with innovations, because they better understand how the different pieces Digital Edition - August 2021

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OPINION

of the manufacturing process fit together and how they can be enhanced.

Rather than creating immediate cost savings like knowledge transfer does, know-why makes workers better innovators in the long run. Our study showed that staff ideas increased in value by 20,000 euros per month following a move, and this lasted for several years. The result adds a new dimension to human resource management. Not only can frontline employees learn to become better at their primary jobs, but they can also learn to become better innovators.

Making mobility work For frontline mobility to promote innovation, it needs to be purposeful and problem-driven. Employees shouldn’t be sent to other plants to passively observe operations or simply receive training.

Moves should be tied to a specific and operationally relevant task.

In the company we studied, employees were sent to plants for local problemsolving, especially when production processes were facing quality issues. The visits were short with a maximum of two weeks, but they intensely engaged visiting employees in the factory’s operations. As a result, teams became deeply embedded in the context of the visited plant and interacted repeatedly with its staff, processes and machinery.

In order to make mobility work, the next important point is that managers must look for similar processes, machinery and products when deciding the exchange to achieve the best outcomes. If these elements differ too much between factories, the gap between their existing knowledge stocks becomes too large for any meaningful knowledge transfer and learning to take place. If two plants are not similar, knowledge from one may not apply Digital Edition - August 2021

to the other.

One common practice in many companies today is to send employees from peripheral plants – foreign or geographically distant factories – to central plants to learn how things are ‘done the

right way’. This won’t promote bottom-up innovation as central plants often lead the way with new technologies and processes.

Knowledge gleaned by visiting employees cannot be readily applied back at their

home plants, where innovations have not yet been adopted. Likewise, employees from more advanced central factories may find little to learn from the circumstances and constraints in which the peripheral plants operate. For innovation, turning to related units in similar contexts is better than visiting technologically advanced but unrelated ones.

Finally, while the benefits of front-line mobility are substantial, it is best to limit how many employees participate in this.

At the car parts manufacturer we studied, around 3% of the workforce visited another plant each year. Involving more employees than needed in exchanges may increase costs, such as those incurred from covering staff members’ absences at their home factories. Additionally, while there was no limit to employee learning, knowledge transfer abated after about 10 exchanges per factory pair and year.

Argument for a mobile workforce With COVID-19 putting a halt on business travel for the foreseeable future, companies have started questioning whether the time, money, and carbon emissions associated with it are necessary. A debate has also emerged regarding whether collaboration enabled by digital tools is a sufficient substitute.

While we did not evaluate the degree to which virtual collaboration fosters frontline innovation, our study provides strong evidence that what drives innovation is exactly the kind of serendipity and free-flowing exchange of ideas that only emerges in the physical presence of fellow workers. Ultimately, we believe that a purposeful, directed, and strategic mobility programme will be best suited to support employee-driven manufacturing innovation over the long term. �

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INNOVATIONS

British Steel launches new weathering product British Steel has developed a self-protecting and durable weathering steel, which it claims is ideal for a whole range of outdoor structures in exposed locations including bridges, buildings and catenary gantries on railway lines.

According to British Steel, the weathering steel’s corrosion rate is so low that structures fabricated from unpainted weathering steel can achieve long lifespans – in some cases up to 120 years – with only minimal maintenance.

“Weathering steel is another superb example of our commitment to delivering quality products and services through rigorous research and development,” said Ben Cunliffe, commercial director, construction, at British Steel.

“It is a high-strength, low-alloy steel that defends itself from corrosion by forming a protective oxide patina (layer), eliminating the need for paint or other protective coatings.

This makes weathering steel an attractive and economic solution for many structures,” said Cunliffe.

Weathering steel is claimed to offer significant advantages over other metals for structures that are exposed to the elements and these include low maintenance, making it ideal for bridges and structures where access is difficult or dangerous; and cost reductions as there is no need for protective painting.

Digital Edition - August 2021

From an environmental standpoint, British Steel claims there are no volatile organic compounds from paint or disposal of blast-cleaning debris from future maintenance. Furthermore, the product offers an attractive appearance as mature weathering steel is said to blend pleasingly with the environment, changing and improving with age, it is claimed.

In terms of speed of construction, there is no need for site painting operations so the overall construction time is reduced and because painting issues are eliminated and future maintenance risks minimized, the product is claimed to offer enhanced safety.

British Steel’s weathering steel is manufactured in Scunthorpe and rolled into sections at the company’s Teesside Beam Mill.

The launch of the product follows hot on the heels of another British Steel product launch seven months ago: that of S460M high-strength structural steel grades – also for the construction market.

British Steel is the only UK manufacturer of structural sections and all of its products are CE and UKCA marked and tested. Weathering steels are produced in accordance with EN 10025-5 and have similar mechanical properties to conventional S355 grades.

For further information, log on to www.britishsteel.com

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INNOVATIONS

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INNOVATIONS

Comau wins GM’s Supplier of the Year award Comau, an Italian multi-national based in Turin, was recently declared the winner of GM Supplier of the Year in General Motors’ 29th annual Supplier of the Year awards.

GM recognized 122 of its best suppliers from 16 countries for performance in the 2020 calendar year. The annual awards highlight global suppliers that distinguish themselves by exceeding GM’s requirements, in turn providing GM customers with innovative technologies and among the highest quality in the automotive industry.

This is the third year running that Comau has received the Supplier of the Year award, in addition to having received the GM Innovation award at the 2016 Supplier of the Year event.

“As GM works to achieve a future with zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion, we are proud to have innovative and dedicated

Digital Edition - August 2021

suppliers around the world as partners in this mission,” said Shilpan Amin, GM vice president, global purchasing and supply chain.

“Throughout a challenging year, our suppliers have showed resilience and dedication in working toward our shared goal of long-term sustainability for our planet and the communities we serve, while meeting our present needs,” Amin said.

“We are pleased with what we’ve accomplished together in the past year and we are excited by the opportunity that lies ahead.”

The 2020 Supplier of the Year winners were selected by a global team of GM purchasing, engineering, quality, manufacturing and logistics leaders. Winners were chosen based on performance criteria in product purchasing, global purchasing and manufacturing services, customer care and aftersales, and logistics.

“Comau is honoured to be named Supplier of

the Year for the third time in a row. As a leader in high-performance framing, bodyside and Body in White systems, we appreciate GM’s recognition of our commitment to their success. This important award reflects our customer-centric approach to creating and sharing value, which has been a fundamental pillar of our longstanding collaboration,” said Giacomo Del Panta, chief customer officer. “I would also like to thank the extended Comau team, whose dedication to achieving exceptional results continues to drive our ability to bring high-quality, innovative manufacturing solutions to meet the evolving needs of the automotive industry.”

For further information, log on to www.comau.com

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ESAB launches European rental partnerships ESAB has launched a partnership with rental companies throughout Europe so that construction companies, fabricators and others can gain immediate access to metalworking equipment.

The initial roll out includes rental partners in France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Spain, Portugal and the UK. ESAB equipment available for hire includes a range of the company’s equipment with outputs for MMA, TIG, MIG/MAG, flux cored, multi-process welding, gouging and manual plasma cutting.

Whether customers need a welding machine for a week or for several months, they can now hire it from a rental outlet without having to purchase equipment outright, freeing up working capital. ESAB partners can also supply the necessary filler metals, torches, PPE and accessories, so customers can one-stop-shop for their short- and

medium-term welding requirements.

According to ESAB, equipment in the rental fleet includes some of the industry’s most compact, portable, powerful, productive and energy-efficient welding and cutting power sources. When end-users know that they have quick access to state-of-the-art equipment, they can tender for more work. Should they win the contract, they will not need to make a heavy up-front investment in order to use the optimum technologies for each project, whereas they might otherwise purchase a welding machine that is perfect for one contract but not for subsequent contracts.

Hiring equipment, says ESAB, often makes good financial sense because customers pay for actual use and not equipment ownership. Hiring minimises maintenance and repair costs, as well

as reduced profits due to downtime because rental companies are responsible for keeping the equipment in good working order.

ESAB equipment in the fleet includes the latest technologies, and packages can be customised for specific job requirements. The company claims that it exists to shape the future of welding and cutting. “We connect fabricators with the widest range of products under our industry-leading brand portfolio with the latest technologies to solve virtually any industry challenge — then we back it up with our knowledge, experience and passion to help them be more productive than ever before.

For further information, log on to www.esab.com

Smart monitoring from Fives Group Fives Group recently held an exclusive open house week event to showcase OTOMES, a flexible and modular manufacturing execution system (MES) for steel and tube manufactures. The event took place in Northern Italy in mid-July 2021 and the showroom was equipped with a complete OTOMES system, composed of hardware stations and software modules, which allowed customers to experience direct benefits from a fully integrated MES. The Open House was held in a hybrid format: in person for local steel manufacturers and online for customers from Europe, as well as North and South America.

“Thanks to its modularity and flexibility, OTOMES allows easy interfacing with third party systems and can be tailored to any customer’s needs. It provides real time direct connection from ERP to machinery, gathers all information in one database and optimizes work orders and priorities”, says Francesco Cazzola, automation sales engineer at Fives OTO SpA – Systems Division, a subsidiary of Fives Group, during the latest modules presentation.

What Fives Group refers to as ‘the unprecedented interactivity offered to customers during the event’ immediately led to new orders from steel and tube manufactures. New features on production monitoring raised during the interaction with customers have been taken into Digital Edition - August 2021

account to develop new modules.

According to Fives Group, OTOMES modules gather and provide information about the machines’ set-ups and give feedback on performance indicators by making available a wide range of reports, all easily customizable. All of the data is integrated in one database with a user-friendly interface that, Fives claims, enables successful production management. OTOMES can be connected from a smartphone to monitor production from the entry of raw materials all the way to the final product shipment.

Fives has been constantly updating and improving its OTOMES products, consolidating customer feedbacks and in-house know-how in automation on steel and tube manufacturing: slitters, tube mills, cut-offs, skin-passes and so on.

Fives claims that wherever the OTOMES system is implemented, it provides a great variety of advantages including increased productivity and stock reduction, real time data analyses, hidden cost disclosure and delivery time predictability.

Currently, OTOMES systems have been implemented in over 400 workshop centres, all around the world.

For further information, www.fivesgroup.com www.steeltimesint.com

DIGITALIZATION & DATA MANAGEMENT FOR ENHANCED PRODUCTIVITY Danieli Automation DIGI&MET is always one step ahead the development of the Intelligent Plant for full process control and increased efficiency Via Bonaldo Stringher, 4 33042 Buttrio (UD) Italy Phone +39 0432 518 111 www.digi-met.com www.dca.it

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22

INNOVATIONS

Pulse CM is designed to monitor the health of vibrating screens using modern algorithms and artificial intelligence

Pulse condition monitoring Haver & Boecker Niagara, a leading provider of screening, pelletizing and mineral processing plants and systems, has launched a new addition to its Pulse portfolio with the introduction of Pulse Condition Monitoring (Pulse CM). The technology is designed to monitor the health of vibrating screens using modern algorithms and artificial intelligence.

According to Haver & Boecker, Pulse CM provides accurate measurements and forecasts complemented by information that is easy to understand. The system is a wireless diagnostics tool that helps mineral processing operations be proactive, rather than reactive, when it comes to maintenance efforts. This, it is claimed, leads to increased efficiency, decreased downtime and improved reliability.

Haver & Boecker Niagara will highlight Pulse CM at booth 7301 in Central Hall at MINExpo 2021, 13-15 September in Las Vegas.

“Haver & Boecker Niagara has a history of developing solutions to help producers increase their uptime,” says Thiago Buoso, the company’s project and sales engineer. “Unexpected downtime is a huge source of lost revenue for producers, so we aim to create products and technology that prevent that. Additionally, there is a lack of reliable systems like this on the market. Pulse condition monitoring is the most detailed, accurate monitoring system available to customers.”

Pulse Condition Monitoring is the next level in

the Pulse portfolio, accompanying vibration analysis (Pulse VA). Similar to Pulse VA, the Pulse CM system analyzes data to help users get the most out of their equipment. Unlike Pulse VA, Pulse CM uses permanently installed sensors to monitor equipment 24/7.

The system captures real time information on monitored equipment and provides alerts via e-mail when it detects the first sign of potential problems. By constantly monitoring the accelerations of the vibration screen, Pulse CM provides a forecast of the equipment’s dynamic condition in intervals of 48 hours, five days, and four weeks. It detects anomalies that will point an operation’s maintenance team to specific areas of the equipment that may require attention. With consistent use, claims Haver & Boecker Niagara, Pulse CM will accurately point out and predict critical issues and advise when to schedule maintenance, along with what to focus on during that planned downtime.

To collect all data from the body and drive components, Pulse CM is equipped with a gateway that can connect with up to 20 wireless sensors, within a radius of up to 246 feet (75 metres). Using a cellular signal or Wi-Fi from the plant, it will send all data to the Haver & Boecker Niagara cloud, available through the company’s web app. The sensor configurations are custom-

izable and placed on both the body and bearings of the vibrating screen. The gateway can also be positioned between two screens operating near one another.

Haver & Boecker Niagara says that an accompanying app displays all the information in an easy-to-use portal, providing a full overview of equipment in real time. They can access detailed information specific to each of the body and bearing sensors to identify the equipment’s operating condition and the health of each component.

For further information, log on to www.haverniagara.com

New management team for ISRA VISION ISRA VISION has been a global leader in surface inspection of web materials and a market leader for 3D machine vision for more than three decades and was founded as a spin-off of the Technical University of Darmstadt, which was subsequently developed into a leading global machine vision technology company. At the end of June 2021, the founder and CEO of the business, Enis Ersü, retired. In the course of his succession planning, ISRA entered into a strategic partnership with the Swedish company Atlas Copco and formed the nucleus of the new Machine Vision Solutions division. With a new management team, the course is now being set for further business development.

The new three-member management team consists of two well-known ISRA VISION executive board members: Hans Jürgen Christ and Dr. Johannes Giet; and Tomas Lundin who has worked for the Atlas Copco Group for over 20 years in various management positions. Lundin brings with him the best qualifications for future growth tasks. Over the past four years, he has gained experience in the Asian market as general manager, industrial technique, in China. He has been on-site at ISRA’s Darmstadt headquarters since August 2020 and is an active member of Digital Edition - August 2021

the management board. He will lead the new division as president, machine vision solutions, from the Darmstadt headquarters.

Hans Jürgen Christ has been with ISRA VISION for 25 years. He took over the task of sales management and, as CSO, has contributed significantly to the growth of ISRA VISION. Dr. Johannes Giet joined ISRA in 2001 via the

acquisition of Rheinmetall Machine Vision, where he was transaction manager. Subsequently, he took over the management of the development of ISRA VISION worldwide and has had a decisive influence on the success of the company.

For further information, log on to www.isravision.com

From left to right: Enis Ersü, Dr. Johannes Giet, Thomas Lundin and Hans Jürgen Christ

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INNOVATIONS

Industry 4.0 compatible platform transporters Hubtex has developed an SFX range of platform transporters for loads of 25 t, 40 t and 65 t. The compact, self-propelling vehicles for indoor and outdoor use have a large loading area for the transport of bulky, heavy loads. Modular design means that the base of the transporter can be equipped with various steering systems and a platform lifting option. The SFX modules were developed for manual applications and can be further expanded into an AGV. Cross-series truck components and the addition of AGV functions make the series suitable for most customer requirements, claims Hubtex.

The series is typically used for in-house transport of heavy-duty goods in the automotive and aviation industries. It is also a popular solution at various stages of the value chain in the metals industry, from foundries to trade, processing, and mechanical engineering.

The core element of all platform transporters is the running gear and the associated steering system. With single-axle steering used as standard on the front axle, a steering angle of up to 70 degrees can be achieved. Multi-directional steering is also available for all three truck series for applications in which manoeuvring is to be avoided. Due to the small turning radius, the amount of space required for the transporter

Digital Edition - August 2021

can be further reduced in cramped production or storage areas. Another advantage of the new steering mechanism, claims Hubtex, is the minimal amount of space required in the truck.

This allows more compact designs than with previous models. Another major plus point is the significant reduction in energy consumption due to the higher efficiency of the electric drives and the compatible components. While the two-truck series up to 40 t is designed to have two axles, the load capacity class up to 65 t is available with three or four axles. Surface flexibility is also required. For this reason, Hubtex has made the three SFX series for 25 t, 40 t and 65 t available with PU-Soft tyres in addition to the standard polyurethane tyres. This means that all types of paved ground on a factory site can be negotiated and use is not restricted to indoor areas. Drive wheel and load wheel rockers ensure that the truck stays level on uneven floors. As a result, the materials are transported safely and reliably even with unfavourable ground conditions, Hubtex claims.

The high degree of modularity means that the vehicles can be adapted to a wide range of uses.

The frame of the new SFX is divided into three fixed areas — front axle, rear axle and central area. Due to a high level of variability at the

interfaces of the assemblies, order-specific length and width adjustments can be made based on the transport task. Pre-fabricated modules, such as the wheel stool or the load wheel rocker and drive wheel rocker, mean that comprehensive vehicle standards can be maintained. An optional lifting function controls either the cylinder or the entire platform. The hydraulic electrical cabinet can be used for all SFX series. Depending on the requirements, the modular electrical panels can be expanded to include AGV functions, even when retrofitting. In this case, the SFX modules can be enhanced by the Phoenix AGV series.

Pre-fabrication of standardised assemblies reduces working time and contributes to the short delivery times of the series. The transport vehicle is easily operated via wired or radio remote control as standard. Functions for integrating the platform transporter into automated processes can be customised as required. A communication interface compliant with VDA 5050 will be integrated in the future. Special designs with driver's cabins and individual superstructures are also available.

For further information, log on to www.hubtex.com

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INNOVATIONS

More Clayton locomotives for Tata Steel UK Clayton Equipment, the only British independent locomotive manufacturer in the UK capable of designing and manufacturing locomotives up to 150 tonnes, has agreed a contract to supply a further two Hybrid+™ CBD90 locomotives to Tata Steel, Port Talbot. The steelworks fleet will eventually include a total of seven Hybrid+™ locomotives supplied by the company.

In 2019 Tata Steel UK, one of Europe’s leading steelmakers, placed an initial order for three 90 tonne CBD90 Hybrid+ ™ Bo-Bo locomotives capable of moving 2,500 tonnes at its Port Talbot works in Wales. Subsequently Tata confirmed purchase of a further two locomotives to be delivered in July 2021.

The latest contract is for two additional locomotives to be delivered early 2023.

The CBD90 locomotive is a self-contained, 90-tonne Bo-Bo locomotive with on-board battery charging. Clayton claims that costs and emissions are significantly reduced by Hybrid+™ technology. Battery charging is undertaken from a 3-phase supply, providing 100% emission-free solutions, or from the low emission, EU Stage V diesel engine.

Digital Edition - August 2021

INNOVATIONS

As part of Tata Steel’s requirement to replace its ageing Port Talbot fleet, many of which are over 60 years old, and to deliver further growth, the steelmaker is now investing in a further two CBD90 locomotives. The sixth and seventh instalments of new Hybrid+™ locomotives, the largest built in the UK for over 20 years, will represent both Tata Steel and British-based Clayton Equipment working together.

The locomotives will go straight to work, and the new configuration will allow Tata Steel to realise significant commercial benefits from its investment in greener technology including reduced emissions, reduced carbon footprint, reduced noise levels, greater haulage capacity and increased reliability.

Clayton Equipment claims to ‘lead the way’ in offering low-emission rail locomotives. The company also provides the additional benefit of UK-based customer support.

Clive Hannaford, managing director of Clayton Equipment, commented: “We are very proud to work with Tata Steel UK and to supply an additional two CBD90 locomotives. This enables Clayton Equipment to provide Tata Steel with sustainable, low-emission, environmentally compliant locomotives which meet their commitment to invest in new technology and provide cost

savings”.

Since the initial Tata Steel contract, Clayton says that the market has grown significantly and the interest and demand for its hybrid designs have led to a record of new contracts and forward orders. Clayton has increased its workforce by 40% to cope with demand. “We’ve had to employ a lot more people including fitters, contract managers and design engineers across all departments just to meet that demand” Hannnaford added.

In a customer-driven market dictated by regulations, the shift from diesel to low emissions is to an extent being forced upon people. Clayton claims that it adopts a broad approach to customer interest by being flexible and small enough to design in partnership with individual requirements.

Clayton Equipment is currently celebrating 90 years in the business and, it claims, there continues to be plenty of expressions of interest in the company’s products.

“We continue to provide the highest quality service by innovative thinking, excellence of execution

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and solid, yet flexible, partnerships with our clients with Tata Steel being a prime example,” says Hannaford.

For further information, log on to www.claytonequipment.co.uk

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INNOVATIONS

Combilift’s 60,000th truck delivered

The Irish manufacturer Combilift recently marked a further milestone when its 60,000th unit came off the production line at the company’s headquarters in Monaghan and was shipped to the other side of the world. The customer taking delivery of this special forklift is Metroll, a leading Australian manufacturer and supplier of steel building products including roofing, cladding, rainwater, structural and fencing.

Metroll has branches across the country, and the new Combi-CB3000 will be a further addi-

Digital Edition - August 2021

tion to its fleet of 13 Combilifts that are operating throughout the Metroll Group, with another 10 already on order. These range from 3-tonne multi-directional units to a highly customised 10-tonne model.

Combilift number 60,000 will be working at Metroll’s Toowoomba site in Australia and has been fitted with features such as a 4.9m triplex mast with a 3050mm spreader to safely and easily manage the long loads that are typically handled by the company.

“Like most businesses we are very busy and we’re also growing at a significant rate, so space has become a premium resource. With this unit we can utilise our space more efficiently whilst at the same time operating safely. Safety is of paramount importance. This forklift allows our machinery to get into tighter spaces and for us to space our racks more closely together to maximise factory floor space,” says Vic Josephs, Metroll’s operations manager.

Combilift CEO and co-founder Martin McVicar

INNOVATIONS

commented: “This is a great achievement for Combilift, particularly as almost every truck we manufacture is a one-off, designed for specific and individual requirements. There are very few other companies, if any, that can offer this level of customisation whilst manufacturing in such volume. The first half of this year has been by far the best in our 23-year history for the number of orders we have received – not just for Combi-CB models but across our complete product range.”

Chris Littlewood, country manager of Com-

bilift Australia said: “The Combi-CB 3t model is the most popular unit in the Australian market and accounted for 50% of the machines we sold in the year ending March 2021. So we are particularly pleased that it is one of our customers in this country that has been able to receive this landmark machine.”

Following the successful collaboration with Metroll in Australia, Combilift now also supplies its trucks to the company’s Californian-based operations too. “We have often found that a

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recommendation from one country leads to sites elsewhere adopting the same material handling processes with our products,” said Martin McVicar. “So we’d like to congratulate Metroll on taking delivery of our 60,000th truck, and thank them for their continued support over the years.”

For further information, log on to www.combilift.com/6000

Digital Edition - August 2021

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INNOVATIONS SPECIAL: STREET CRANE

A key supplier to the steel stockholding and handling industry, Street Crane Company, celebrates its 75th year of continual innovation in crane technology. The company’s association with steel stockholding and handling grew in the 1970s and 1980s with installations for Walker Steel and British Steel Distribution (BSD) making them among the biggest UK customers for coil and section handling cranes. In recent times, Tata Steel has come to Street Crane Company for both standard and highly specialised cranes.

According to Street Crane, key features that give steel stockholding and handling users assurance in lifting include an additional hoist brake for increased safety during maintenance

operations. Heavy-duty open winch hoists ensure a stable and true vertical lift. Programmable speed control and load-dependent speeds give precise movements for accurate and safe load positioning.

Tandem cranes and hoists with load summation give even more handling flexibility, claims the company.

Coil handling cranes have become a Street speciality, with multiple applications in automotive plants and automotive supply chains. Recent orders include 30-plus tonnes safe working load coil handling cranes for A V Dawson, steel supplier to Nissan in Sunderland, and also to Associated British Ports at Newport.

“Due to Covid restrictions, it is unlikely that we will be able to mark our 75th year as we have done similar milestones in the past. However, in what has been a difficult year for everyone, it is a note of positive news. Even more positive is that the spirit of our founder continues to drive us forward,” explained managing director Gus Zona.

A family-owned business, Street Crane is the UK’s largest producer of factory overhead, gantry and jib cranes and is a global supplier of advanced hoists and controls to a network of over 100 international independent crane makers.

It started with Peter R Street, a World War II pilot flying Spitfires, Hurricanes and giant Horsa gliders. In 1946, with £88 in his pocket, given

Street Crane celebrates 75 uplifting years

Digital Edition - August 2021

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INNOVATIONS SPECIAL: STREET CRANE

him by the Royal Air Force as a ‘gratuity’ for his service to the country, he decided to start a crane company in Sheffield, England, and to buy the first company vehicle – a motorbike and side car.

He then set about repairing factory cranes in an industrial landscape decimated by war.

“Sadly, Peter is no longer with us, but his spirit lives on. While Covid hasn’t destroyed industrial infrastructure in the way bombs did all those years ago, he would see similarities in the need to invest, rebuild and innovate,” says Martin Street, Peter’s son and current company chairman.

Innovation was at the core of Street Crane’s success from the very beginning. In post war Britain there were shortages and government

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controls allocating available materials by strategic priority. Wound rotor motors used at the time to give smooth acceleration on crane travel motions were very hard to find. Peter’s solution was to employ fluid couplings and freely available four-pole motors, which meant Street could offer equal or better acceleration at lower prices and shorter lead times.

Today’s Street ZX hoist range is the sixth generation of hoisting equipment the company has designed and serially manufactured. In late 2020, Street launched Eazycrane, the online crane configuration software, which puts 75 years of know-how and expertise at the fingertips of their distributors around the world. The result of a

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10-year investment to automate crane design, drawing, component selection, quotations and order processing, Eazycrane enables Street and its distributors to work within a single system.

“Had Peter survived he would have celebrated his 100th birthday this year. Another good reason to remember our founder and the generations of colleagues who did the groundwork upon which we are building our future ability to meet the challenging and changing lifting needs of the steel stockholding and handling industry,” Martin Street concluded.

For further information, log on to www.streetcrane.co.uk

Digital Edition - August 2021

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INNOVATIONS SPECIAL: SANDVIK COROMANT

A solid way to overcome microdefects

Hole surface integrity is a real concern for aerospace manufacturers, or general engineering diversifying into aerospace.

Tests with an improved-design carbide drill open up new possibilities in hole quality, says James Thorpe*.

‘Measure twice and cut once’, is a common expression in manufacturing, but it is easier said than done when machining difficult materials.

That’s why, when a leading global manufacturer in aerospace sought to eliminate an entire second stage from its drilling processes, while also improving the hole quality in its aerospace components, it turned to Sandvik Coromant for a solution.

Holemaking is the most common of all machining processes, but it is also the one most often taken for granted. Many machine shops see little reason to change or upgrade their existing holemaking set-up and have been using the same tools and cutting parameters for years. But, as the unpredictable effects of COVID-19 continue, this is all set to change.

McKinsey & Company’s recent COVID-19

Briefing note calls the present industry situation a ‘next normal’, where manufacturers can expect unpredictable and lasting shifts in customer markets. The report advises that, ‘resilience will be needed if manufacturers are to navigate an economically and socially viable path.’

Most manufacturers, for example, are exploring new vendor bases and products. So, machine shops that once specialised in a certain area of production are now opening their CNC lathes and mills to a wider variety of tough and challenging materials. At the same time, manufacturers must explore new ways to increase profits and reduce cycle times, without sacrificing product quality.

In other words, it’s time for manufacturers to rethink how they go about making holes.

*Global product manager, Sandvik Coromant Digital Edition - August 2021

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INNOVATIONS SPECIAL: SANDVIK COROMANT

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With the CoroDrill® 860 with -SM geometry, longer tool life and better hole quality is down to the design of the drill.

The white stuff Hole surface integrity is a real concern for aerospace manufacturers, or general engineering companies that want to diversify into aerospace.

Better hole quality is vital for preventing component failure and is very much determined by the manufacturing processes used for machining or finishing the holes.

Tooling solutions, and cutting edge-geometries in drills, are continually evolving to meet the highest standards of manufacturing and part quality. The use of coolant is also improving for reducing heat build-up in the tool. And tests have found that each of these factors can control the so-called ‘white layer’ effect on workpiece materials.

A leading global manufacturer in aerospace, and a customer of Sandvik Coromant, coined the phrase ‘white layer’. It refers to a thin, ultra-fine grain structure that is observed after component drilling, caused by the heat of the drill. Not only can the white layer change the surface properties of the material, it was also deemed unacceptable within the customer’s quality management processes.

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The manufacturer applies a strict hole-finishing process to drilled holes in aerospace components, including turbine discs, compressors, drums and shafts. That’s why it chose to partner with Sandvik Coromant to investigate why the white layer forms, and how to control it.

It’s important to note that quality management was not the only motivating factor for the tests. At senior management level, the customer wanted to reduce its overall operational time, and increase profits, and do so by eliminating an entire secondary machining process.

Second act The secondary process happens after a hole has been created with the carbide drill and can involve reaming, plunge end or milling to finish the component. The secondary stage occurs mainly to meet surface integrity demands – reducing issues like the white layer – rather than dimensional accuracy, with the exception of when machining tight tolerance holes.

From an overall cost perspective, the secondary process is even more expensive than maintaining low cutting data, which is the other way to

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INNOVATIONS SPECIAL: SANDVIK COROMANT

preserve surface integrity. That is why Sandvik Coromant’s customer wanted to investigate doing away with the process altogether. A supplier with a product that produces a conforming hole to size, without any secondary processes, is in a strong business position to significantly reduce the cost per part.

The investigation into causes, and possible preventions, of the white layer involved four tests of drilling the high-strength, nickel chromium Inconel 718, a popular aerospace material. It was the first time any such investigation had been carried out by the customer.

The tests assessed drilling with two solid carbide drills, the CoroDrill R840 and CoroDrill R846. Each was run at two different sets of cutting parameters: 58 mm/min and 98 mm/ min, respectively, and spin speeds of 829 rev/min and 757 rev/min, respectively. Cutting force and torque data were measured throughout the tests, as was the white layer thickness.

Since these tests, R840 has been superseded by the CoroDrill® 860 with -GM geometry and R846 has been superseded by the CoroDrill® 860 with -SM geometry. Each of these next generation tools is designed to further enhance tool life, without compromising hole quality.

The results provided valuable insight into what causes white layer thickness. Particularly of note was that the R846 generated less white layer, due to the preparation of its curved and radial-cutting edges. Meanwhile, the straight cutting edges and chamfer imposed on the cutting edge of the R840 are linked with the increase in cutting force, Digital Edition - August 2021

torque and white layer thickness. The drill’s design determines whether high hole quality, with a reduced white layer, can be achieved without sacrificing cutting data.

Not only did the global aerospace manufacturer’s tests with Sandvik Coromant reveal a thing or two about the white layer, the company has been able to eliminate some secondary processes, like reaming and plunge milling, which has resulted in time and cost benefits. What’s more, the results have validated the design of Sandvik Coromant’s CoroDrill® 860 range of carbide drills.

Better by design The range includes the aforementioned CoroDrill 860 with -GM (CD860-GM) geometry, designed to be an all-rounder for drilling challenging ISO P, M, K and H materials across all industry sectors.

The CoroDrill 860 with -SM geometry (CD860SM), for machining ISO-S grades like super alloys (HRSAs), titanium and Inconel is also part of the range, the latter proving popular in aerospace.

Longer tool life and better hole quality is down to drill design, according to Sandvik Coromant engineers who claim that the CD860-GM has a polished flute design that improves the evacuation of chips; and yields high core strength and reduced cutting forces while drilling.

The CD860-SM has a new grade and optimised and refined point geometry, which is claimed to further enhance tool life when working with difficult-to-machine HRSA materials. The result is greater hole quality.

The CoroDrill 860 has been proven in pre-mar-

ket tests across a range of sectors. A mechanical engineering company in France, for example, put it to work on AISI 4140 structural steel and it was able to achieve quality holemaking with both a concave and convex entry of the drill, with good straightness and tolerance.

Another customer, an Italian general engineering manufacturer, achieved a more than 45% productivity increase using the CD860-GM when machining the strong, steel alloy 34CrNiMo6, versus the use of a competitor’s drill. It also achieved a 100% greater tool life. Elsewhere, the CD860-SM has yielded impressive results in the machining of Inconel 718. In particular, testing undertaken in Katowice, Poland, was able to achieve a 180% improved tool life with the CD860-SM versus the use of the CoroDrill R840.

Whatever the sector, high tool performance can be achieved if the drill is designed properly for that purpose. Meanwhile, additional online tools like Sandvik Coromant’s CoroPlus Tool Guide can provide further support.

By accessing the tool via a web browser and entering the desired workpiece material, hole diameter and depth, users can find the best solid round tool and cutting data for their requirements. While “measure twice and cut once” drilling hasn’t been achieved yet, the performance of the CD860-GM and CD860-SM can help manufacturers rethink how they make holes.

For further information, log on to www.sandvik.coromant.com www.steeltimesint.com

SUPPLY CHAIN

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What is a sustainable supply chain?

A sustainable supply chain is one that fully integrates ethical and environmentally responsible practices into a competitive and successful model. End-to-end supply chain transparency is critical; sustainability initiatives must extend from raw materials sourcing to last-mile logistics, and even to product returns and recycling processes. By Stefan Koch*

DIGITAL transformation and the growing sophistication of digital supply chain technologies are playing a major part in the evolution of supply chain transparency and sustainability. Big Data management, advanced analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), and security tools, such as blockchain and RFID sensors, have brought unprecedented visibility and accountability to modern supply chains. Companies now have a much greater ability – and obligation – to demonstrate corporate social responsibility and to share best practices for green supply chains and sustainable logistics.

As ethical supply chain practices become a greater and more immediate priority for businesses, compliance

goals and sustainability benchmarks are also becoming more standardized.

The United Nations Global Compact has laid out 10 criteria for measuring supply chain sustainability. These cover areas of environmental responsibility, labour practices, human rights, and corruption. These principles are built upon the realization that socially responsible practices and products are not only good for people and the planet, but are also good for building positive brand awareness, competitiveness, and long-term profitability.

Supply chain sustainability in a changing world For many businesses, it took the arrival of COVID-19 to deliver the sharp jolt of

realization as to just how outdated and vulnerable their supply chain operations were. Even before the pandemic arrived, fundamental changes to consumer behaviour had been causing global supply chain managers to begin re-evaluating their operations.

One such change is the huge rise in demand for next-day shipping. Known as the Amazon Effect, it has created something of a paradox as it relates to supply chain sustainability. In a 2019 survey of 1,500 US consumers, delivery speed was ahead of all other factors when choosing a retail channel. Yet, in many other surveys, such as a recent report from Nielsen, customers are willing to pay more for products that ensure green logistics

* Global lead for metals, industry business unit, SAP. www.steeltimesint.com

Digital Edition - August 2021

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SUPPLY CHAIN

practices and transparent supply chains.

If companies are to deliver on both speed and sustainability, it will require the ability to have real-time access to third-party logistics networks and deep, end-to-end visibility into their entire supply chain operation, including the most distant, lowtier suppliers.

A recent article in the Economist calls COVID-19 ‘the new normal’ and suggests that we will have to restructure our lifestyles and businesses. Part of this will mean decreased reliance on overseas suppliers and manufacturers and increased reliance upon modern supply chain and manufacturing technologies to help us bring our supply bases closer to home.

But, realistically, ours is a global economy and we will always have to rely on some international sources for certain raw materials and manufacturing capabilities.

Three components of sustainable supply chains Twenty years ago, the word sustainability was almost completely synonymous with eco-friendliness. Today, it is a much more holistic term. Green, transparent, and circular supply chains are all components of a modern sustainable supply chain. �

What is a green supply chain?

Digital Edition - August 2021

A green supply chain is achieved by successfully integrating environmentally responsible principles and benchmarks into supply chain management. This includes product design, materials sourcing, manufacturing, logistics, and end-of-life product management. With the rise of e-commerce, there are more product and shopping choices than ever. To compete, businesses need to find resilient solutions to greening their supply chains while still growing profit. Supply chain technologies such as AI and machine learning can help businesses spot risks, patterns, and opportunities – allowing them to minimize waste and improve efficiency. � What is a transparent supply chain?

Supply chain transparency refers to the ability and willingness of a business to openly disclose information about the provenance of goods and labour and end-to-end supply chain practices. Many businesses invest significant time and resources into establishing and maintaining ethical and environmentally responsible

of digital technologies such as blockchain and RFID sensors, supply chain managers can now obtain an accurate and irrefutable record of all the products and suppliers along the entire supply chain. � What is a circular supply chain?

In a circular supply chain, products are disassembled or reduced to their raw materials form, and remade into sellable products – allowing businesses to achieve the environmental benefits of recycling while recouping costs in the process. The win-win nature of this model is growing in popularity, and, according to a 2020 Gartner survey, 70% of supply chain leaders plan to invest in the circular economy.

Some of the modern technologies that support these initiatives include the use of recycled plastics in 3D printing and the ability for advanced analytics to map out the most efficient logistics journeys for

standards. However, this has traditionally been very difficult to enforce and reliably implement. Fortunately, through the use

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SUPPLY CHAIN

returning products into the supply chain loop.

How does a sustainable supply chain work? � Sustainable supply chains work by collaborating.

A surprising number of the world’s largest companies use the same raw materials and low-tier suppliers.

Global pressure to improve sustainability and transparency has seen improvements. However, compliance with green and ethical operational standards has traditionally been difficult to enforce in many parts of the world. If supply chain managers are to combat this, they can best do so by working together, sharing information, and sending a message that sustainability compliance is essential to doing business.

The Fashion Revolution movement began in 2013 and is a great example of many major – and highly competitive – fashion brands, choosing to work together to combat unethical suppliers in their industry. � Sustainable supply chains work by leveraging the best available technologies.

Supply chain sustainability presents a challenge due to the complexity and wide distribution of the links in the chain.

Without modern digital technologies, it’s simply not possible to maintain and coordinate the level of accountability and realtime visibility necessary to achieve ambitious sustainability goals. The great thing about digital transformation in supply chains is that it doesn’t have to happen all at once to be effective. Incremental steps can be

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taken to gradually digitize supply chain operations. Smart factory and digital supply chain solutions gather and analyze data by their very nature. So from the moment of integration, connected technologies begin to calculate their own ROI. � Sustainable supply chains work by setting consistent standards.

In order for a strategic supply chain sustainability plan to work, benchmarks, targets, and guidelines must be clearly defined and then shared – and agreed to – among all the stakeholders and suppliers.

Fortunately, today we have numerous bodies that help businesses set these goals and criteria, and digital technologies make it easier to track and manage compliance.

Top three benefits of a sustainable supply chain Investing in more sustainable and transparent supply chains has potential benefits across the entire business: 1. Cost control Between 2019 and 2020, over 6,000 senior supply chain executives were surveyed by PWC. Based upon their level of investment and implementation of digital supply chain technologies, they were ranked from digital novices to digital champions.

The digital champions reported an almost 7% drop in supply chain operations costs as a direct result of digital transformation. And 50% of the digital champions indicated that investment in supply chain sustainability and transparency would be a higher priority.

2. Building brand loyalty and reputation

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Statistics recently published in Forbes magazine showed consumers to be up to 88% more likely to be loyal to companies that demonstrate strong social and environmental responsibility. Consumer awareness and preference for sustainable businesses had been steadily increasing even before the pandemic. Now, public demand for transparent supply chain and business practices is at an all-time high. This sentiment is echoed in a 2020 article in Fortune magazine, which states: “Companies are under an intense microscope during the COVID-19 crisis.

A company’s social footprint is taking centre stage in an unprecedented way.” A reputation for sustainable and transparent supply chain practices can give businesses a competitive edge during difficult times.

3. Minimizing risk and vulnerability It seems every few years, we hear a story about how a tainted or dangerous product slipped through the cracks and made it into the supply chain. Apart from the devastating consequence of anyone getting hurt, a product recall has the potential to damage a company – sometimes beyond repair. When supply chain transparency is enforced and implemented with digital security solutions, unscrupulous suppliers and manufacturers have nowhere to hide.

These measures protect businesses from unethical and environmentally irresponsible partners and track and document the labour, handling, and materials from source to destination.

Technology components of a sustainable supply chain Digital transformation in the supply chain Digital Edition - August 2021

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SUPPLY CHAIN

allows companies to meet and exceed sustainability benchmarks while also innovating and growing their businesses. � Artificial intelligence. AI technologies allow for the curation and analysis of multiple, disparate data sets across the supply chain. A powerful benefit that AI brings to the sustainable supply chain is the capacity for synchromodality and collaborative shipping. This means tracking the status and location of packages to take real-time advantage of opportunities to combine shipments or utilize less resourceheavy logistics if time permits. � Machine learning. As an application of AI, machine learning uses Big Data to help systems and connected devices adapt in real time – to discover patterns, learn from experience, and automate agile and responsive workflows. For supply chain managers, the operational optimization measures that come out of this process can reduce waste and energy usage. � Robots and automated things.

Online shopping has risen by over 149% since the start of 2020. With many customers expecting fast or next-day delivery, we are pushing the existing capacity of warehousing and lastmile logistics provision to its breaking point. Electronic drones and inventory management robots are examples of

automation that can be optimized with intelligence to improve workflow efficiency, optimize energy, and save on fossil fuel usage in logistics. � Additive manufacturing. Also known as 3D printing, additive manufacturing allows companies to maintain virtual inventories and to manufacture stock on demand. The ability to manufacture on-site and on-demand eliminates fossil fuel usage and other resources used in overseas shipping and packing. It also has the potential to use recycled plastics from within the supply chain loop as the base material for 3D manufacturing. � Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).

When connected devices and machines within a business are fitted with unique identifiers and the ability to send and receive digital data, they become part of an IIoT network. Asset intelligence in a sustainable supply chain can help to optimize machine performance and automate maintenance to reduce energy usage and eliminate redundancies in workflows. � Blockchain. Blockchain can act as a single source of truth. Using sensors, products and materials can be accurately tracked back to their source to remove any speculation as to their provenance, quality, and handling – at any stage across the

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supply chain. � Sensors. RFID devices and other small, inexpensive sensors can easily be fitted to products and raw materials – at their source or anywhere along the supply chain. When partners and suppliers comply with mandatory sensor attachment, an unprecedented level of transparency is achieved. � Modern databases and ERP. The best sustainability solutions run on inmemory databases and ERP systems that can manage Big Data and diverse, complex processes. The technologies and automated components of a sustainable supply chain are dependent upon predictive and advanced analytics and on real-time insights.

Sustainable supply chains in action By combining innovation, creativity, and modern supply chain technologies, these companies have developed sustainable solutions to keep their supply chains green, transparent and competitive. � California Steel applied digital technology for increased automation, greater accuracy, and enhanced transportation visibility. � ArcelorMittal used increased planning process transparency across sales, supply, manufacturing, and distribution. �

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DIGITALIZATION

Digitalization for safer, smarter mining operations

Steelmaking is relentlessly linked to mining. Despite its high recyclability, the steel produced worldwide still relies on the mining industry for supplying raw materials. Sustainable steel production implies sustainable mining and digitalization are key to achieve both. By Carlos Alba* AS tailings represent the main environmental impact of mining operations, ArcelorMittal has devoted a significant R&D effort towards developing, adapting, testing and integrating a plethora of monitoring and surveillance technologies.

The integration of all of them into a single tool (i-SMART: Integrated Surveillance and Monitoring ArcelorMittal Tool) is the subject of this article. Ultimately, the objective is having safer and smarter mining operations.

ArcelorMittal mining operations Raw materials make progress possible: the smarter steels that ArcelorMittal produces depend on high-quality raw materials. As one of the world’s leading producers of iron ore, ArcelorMittal supplies nearly half of its own iron ore needs and provides the types of coal that are essential to steelmaking.

Its mining assets provide supply security and quality for its own operations, and a source of high-value raw materials for its customers.

ArcelorMittal has both iron ore and metallurgical coal reserves. The company’s

iron ore mining operations are located in Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Liberia, India (via a joint venture), Bosnia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan; and its metallurgical coal mining operation is located in Kazakhstan.

ArcelorMittal produced 52.2Mt of iron ore and 3.6Mt of coking coal in 2020. The

Fig 1. Dry samples of tailings

portfolio of mining products includes iron ore lump, fines, concentrate pellets and sinter feed, and coking coal, thermal coal and pulverised coal injection (PCI) coal.

Mining and tailings In parallel with production, any mining activity that requires an ore concentration process generates a byproduct called tailings. The concentration process (called ‘beneficiation’), comprises a series of steps for separating the mined material (RunOf-Mine or ROM) into a concentrated ore (iron and coal for ArcelorMittal) and non-interesting material, called gangue.

Since most concentration processes are wet, the combination of gangue with water configures the by-product stream that is known as tailings. Fig 1.

Depending on the deposit characteristics (mainly the grade), different volumes of tailings are generated daily in a mining operation. The most common aspect is a diluted slurry, with a high percentage of water. Management of these streams is usually done by storage in very large areas with containment structures (dams) called Tailings Storage Facilities (TSF), also referred as Tailings Dams.

ArcelorMittal has 26 tailings storage facilities (TSFs), including dry stack and in-pit disposal, with 17 facilities in active

* Chief digital officer, ArcelorMittal Research Digital Edition - August 2021

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DIGITALIZATION

Key parameter

Monitoring solutions

Pore water pressure

Piezometers (vibrating wire, pneumatic, standpipe…)

Lateral deformation

Inclinometers (manual, in-place…), rod extensometer, topographic systems (total station, laser scanner, GNSS...), InSAR…

Vertical deformation

Settlement cells, magnet extensometer, sondex, settlement points, rod extensometer, horizontal inclinometer, topographic systems

(total station, laser scanner, GNSS…), InSAR

Seismic acceleration

Accelerometers

Water level

Water level sensors (optical, ultrasonic...)

Water depth

Bathymetric surveys (manned boats, remote-control boats…)

Water quality

Multi-parametric probe (pH, conductivity, turbidity, ORP, temperature…), single-parameter sensors…

Seepage

Flowmeters, geophysical techniques…

Weather conditions

Weather stations (pluviometry, temperature, relative humidity, evaporation, wind speed and direction, pressure, solar radiation…)

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Table 1. Key parameters to be controlled in tailings dam monitoring and main market solutions.

use and eight dormant. Its governance model is based upon Mining Association of Canada Guidelines[1], as well as the best industry practices available, including the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management[2] and Canadian Dam Association (CDA) guidelines.

Fully aligned with this solid governance model and running in parallel with the digitalization strategy of the company, ArcelorMittal Global R&D started in 2017 exploring technologies that could help digitalize the surveillance and monitoring with special focus on tailings dams. One of the key challenges was the vast range of parameters that can be measured in a facility, and also the flourishment of technologies able to measure them, especially space-borne and airborne technologies.

The following table includes a summary of the main monitoring systems commonly used in tailings storage facilities for each key control parameter.[3] The goal of this R&D initiative was to digitalize the existing sensors and automate when possible the monitoring and surveillance campaigns. Also, start testing some other technologies like unmanned vehicles and different satellite applications to enhance the level of information that we have from the tailing dams.

The recent dam failures in different countries have also contributed to the development of new ways of measuring what is happening in a tailings dam.

Geotechnical sensors, mainly piezometers and inclinometers, are used to monitor key parameters involved in tailings dam stability (pore water pressure and lateral deformation, respectively). Traditionally, these parameters were measured manually, with low frequency (monthly to biannual).

Latest research has identified that several dam instabilities have taken place in short www.steeltimesint.com

Fig 2. Installation of RST Instruments wireless sensors

Fig 3. Satellite deformation map by Tre-Altamira synthetic aperture radar

periods of time [4] [5]. This highlights the necessity to install automatic systems that enable daily to hourly acquisition frequency.

The digitalization of the technology allows an exponential increase of measurement frequencies with better accuracy, lower cost and no risk for workers.

One of the biggest challenges, especially in big corporations like ArcelorMittal, where multiple technologies have been implemented and evolved throughout

the years at different places in the organization, is standardization. This is key in an ArcelorMittal Global R&D project to digitalize its tailings dams: deployed solutions must share not only data, but also knowledge between different sites around the world. ArcelorMittal Global R&D is leading the adoption and development of standards for tailing dams monitoring to aid in this digitalization process by establishing platforms that comprise a core set of technologies in fields like Big Data and IoT. In the case of the mining industry, with big foot-printed operations, geopositioning of all the signals is important.

And in the specific case of tailings dams it is critical. So, the information of the sensors and monitoring technologies always includes geographical references. This can be as simple as co-ordinates for a sensor or as complex as a 3D map in the case of drone topography, for example. With such big distances, wireless solutions and the communication networks that make it possible add a layer of technology and complexity.

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DIGITALIZATION

Surveillance and monitoring technologies in ArcelorMittal ArcelorMittal Global R&D has tested a wide range of surveillance and monitoring solutions in different mining tailing dams that the company has worldwide. These technologies can be very broadly divided in three categories: • Spaceborne and airborne monitoring (satellites, drones.)

• Waterborne (buoys, remote-controlled floating devices, sensors and probes.)

• Ground monitoring (geophysical, geotechnical technologies.)

Some of them include the previously mentioned geotechnical wireless sensors.

Fig 2.

Spaceborne synthetic aperture radar is a remote sensing technique in which a small physical antenna located on a satellite emits a radar signal, imitating a large antenna as it moves (thus ‘synthetic aperture’)Fig 3. Then, the sensor records the properties of the reflected signal, that is, the strength/amplitude and its phase[6].

Deformation maps can be built based on the phase differences between images.

This solution allows for the automatic monitoring of wide areas without the need for field instrumentation. Accuracy of this technology can reach the range of a few millimetres.

Frequent bathymetric surveys are performed in tailings ponds to determine water volumes and depths. These parameters are used to estimate storage capacity and volumes of water that can be recirculated to the processing plant.

Traditionally, these studies were typically conducted with manned boats and required

Fig 4. ArcelorMittal Global R&D researcher programming

Fig 5. Remote-control catamaran within

remote control catamaran

ArcelorMittal ponds

several technicians during each operation.

New unmanned remote-control boats reduce risks, but also manpower and associated operating costs. Fig 4.

A remote-control survey catamaran equipped with a dual frequency echo sounder kit has been tested within several ArcelorMittal ponds.

Fig 5 shows this boat in operation.

European tailings dams breaks resulted from a combination of different factors[7].

These evidences and the goal of standardizing all technologies under the ArcelorMittal digitalization strategy, led R&D to conclude that the multi-technology, multi-visualization approach was not optimal and the synergies of all these measurements would be lost with off-theshelf independent dashboards. i-SMART (integrated Surveillance and Monitoring ArcelorMittal tool) is currently being developed by ArcelorMittal R&D based on GIS (geographic information system) to manage and show all the information generated by the monitoring and surveillance technologies.

The goal is to create a universal,

ArcelorMittal i-SMART solution All this information generated with the different technologies and sensors, is currently managed and visualized independently by mine operators. Each technology supplier tends to offer a proprietary, independent visualization solution that does not communicate with the information from other technologies.

But according to Rico et al 39% of

Fig 6. Conceptual information flow of ArcelorMittal’s i-SMART tool and link with ArcelorMittal’s IoT platform (Dashiell) and big data platform (Arthur)

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DIGITALIZATION

standardized digital platform capable of gathering the information from sensors, surveys and inspections, and also able to store, process and visualize it. Fig 6.

There are different sets of information that can enter the platform, but they can be summarized in two main groups: • Any geospatial data (coming from surveys, created maps, geo-referenced satellite data). This information would need to be transformed in the right formats and systems.

• Real time sensors data, which would need to be connected through a standardized protocol passing through Dashiell, ArcelorMittal’s IoT platform, when needed.

Once the information is stored in the geo-database, several visualization dashboards and maps can be created using the pre-made tools built in the framework, or specifically programmed to show the information in several ways. i-SMART can also apply geospatial processing to the information running on GIS software, which allows for further and deeper analysis to be developed, increasing the number of potential applications and uses of the information. i-SMART has now been deployed in a Cloud system and is currently connecting to the different ArcelorMittal sites, to gather the information and show it in different dashboards. With time, it will gather and manage huge amounts of data. The connection with Arthur, ArcelorMittal’s big data platform, will allow further exploitation of the information, applying advanced distributed processing algorithms and machine learning techniques both to stored geospatial and sensor data, which would then be visualized using the platform.

The versatility of the digitalization of all this information opens the door to ad-hoc apps, tools and dashboards for the different end-users of the information. In this first phase of the tool, R&D is working on the development of the key dashboards to visualize the parameters of the monitored dam in real time. Fig 7.

This generic dashboard contains all the information coming from the installed sensors on-site, general information from the TSF, key contacts and crucial information from each site. The sensors are connected in real time and updated according to the instrument frequency, www.steeltimesint.com

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Fig 7. One of the i-SMART dashboards generated in ArcGIS

which can be changed accordingly.

These dashboards always share the same structure, but they are open to local developments to fulfill the particular necessities of each mine.

Mainly, each dashboard contains a basemap of the facility where the piezometers and inclinometers are represented and their actual status, in green, yellow and red, according to their safety limits. This gives a clear and fast idea of the whole status of the facility because the information of each sensor is being updated in real-time.

Also, to have a deeper understanding, the values of pressure of each piezometer and the cumulative displacement of each inclinometer is represented.

More applications currently under development show bathymetry surveys as a layer on the same dashboard and incorporate InSAR data. The combination with the technologies presented will allow a more complex analysis to be performed by incorporating the climate data, water levels, bathymetry data, topographies, piezometric levels, InSAR data, and so on, which opens the door for a more complete analysis of the general TSF behaviour. �

References [1] Mining Association of Canada (MAC), «A Guide to the Management of Tailings Facilities,» Mining Association of Canada (MAC), 2019.

[2] International Council of Mining and Metals (ICMM) and United Nations, «Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management,» ICMM and UN, 2020.

[3] Durham Geo Slope Indicator, «Guide to Geotechnical Instrumentation,» Slope Indicator, Mukilteo, Washington, USA, 2004.

[4] T. Carlà, P. Farina, E. Intrieri, K. Botsialas e N. Casagli, «On the monitoring and early-warning of brittle slope failures in hard rock masses: Examples from an open-pit-mine,» Engineering Geology, pp. 71-81, 2017.

[5] T. Carlà, E. Intrieri, F. Raspini, F. Bardi, P. Farina, A. Ferretti, D. Colombo, F. Novali and N. Casagli, “Perspectives on the prediction of catastrophic slope failures from satellite InSAR,” Scientific Reports, 9. Nature, 2019.

[6] T. Lillesand, R. W. Kiefer e J. Chipman, Remote Sensing and Image Interpretation, 7 edition, Hoboken, N.J: Wiley, 2015.

[7] M. Rico, G. Salgueiro, A. R. DíezHerrero e H. G. Pereira, «Reported tailings dam failures. A review of the European incidents in the worldwide context,» 2008.

Digital Edition - August 2021

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HISTORY

45

Locomotive building commenced in 1872 and continued into the 1950s

Resita into the 20th Century Following three previous articles on the iron industry in the Boc,şa region of present day South West Romania, we bring the story of the Resita ironworks into the first decade of the 20th century under the new ownership of the Austrian State Railway. By Romulus Ioan* IN December 1854, the Resita ironworks, which had been making massive losses in recent years, and had been damaged by a revolution in 1848, was sold to The Austrian Imperial Privileged State Railway Company (SteG) , financed by the Rothschild Group. SteG was constructing a 4000km railway line linking the Banet region of Romania with Austria. It also acquired mines, workshops and forests so that the Resita works could provide materials for this venture which also included building locomotives as well as producing and laying track and other infrastructure such as bridges.

By 1872, there was a need to upgrade the works. The 20-oven coke plant built in 1864 was upgraded resulting in 4,017.8 tons output in 1870 on a 28-30 hour cycle per push.

Ferromanganese was produced in one of the two blast furnaces, samples of which were exhibited at the World Fair held in Vienna in 1873. The blast furnaces were upgraded and hot blast stoves installed

at this time. For each kilogram of iron produced, the furnaces were charged with 2.3kg of iron ore, 1kg of coke and 0.21kg of limestone. Following this upgrade, combined output increased from 6,809 tons in 1855 to 24,500 tons in 1875, achieving a peak of 114,150 tons in 1913.

In 1910, an Allis Chalmers 3m diameter 70m long rotary kiln was commissioned for agglomeration of fines generated during production. The charge to the furnaces was

Year tons 1890

58,910

1894

64,200

1900

89,600

1905

73,500

1910

10,287

1913

14,557

Table 1 Steel production at Resita 1890 – 1913

70-80% iron ore and 20-30% agglomerate.

Wrought iron and steel Puddling furnaces were introduced in 1845 and by 1860 two more puddling furnaces were added along with two Piestzka twin hearth furnaces. In 1862, wrought iron output was 5,759 tons from which 2,777t of profiles, 1592t of rail, 451t of hoop, and 929t of sheet were processed.

In 1868, four 8t Bessemer converters were installed, each capable of making 2,400t per year. They operated until 1899, output peaking at 30kt/yr. They were replaced by three 10t converters that year.

The ratio of pig iron to steel was 1.24 – 1.34 t pig per ton of steel produced.

In 1876, two Siemens-Martin open hearth furnaces, each of 8t capacity, were installed and a further two 15t furnaces between 1881 and 1882. By 1896-97 the steel shop consisted of three Bessemer converters and three Siemens-Martin open hearth furnaces, giving an output of 171.416kt/yr.

*Dr Ioan is executive director of the modern Resita steelworks, part of the TMK Group Digital Edition - August 2021

46

HISTORY

In 1880, Crucible steelmaking was used to make alloy steel for locomotive components

In 1880, Crucible steelmaking was employed to make alloy steels for use in components of the locomotives being built at the works. Crucible steelmaking was replaced by an electric arc furnace within a few years. The furnace had a capacity of 7 to 8.5 tons and was a Herould 5000A 80V unit producing five charges of special steels a day. It was located in the foundry.

Further modernisation took place in 1910 with the installation of four 30t Siemens Martin furnaces, and a 250t capacity mixer for the blast furnace iron. Steel production for 1890 to 1913 is given in Table 1.

A new refractory plant was commissioned in 1905-06 to replace one built in 1859

using nearby raw materials, quartz and dolomite.

Processing plant In 1859, two tool forges were in operation and a nail forge.

In 1890, 3,961t of flat products and 20,108t of rail were produced by rolling.

Between 1901 and 1905 a hydroelectric power plant was built using a Francis turbine coupled with a Ganz generator with an output of 360kW at 418rpm. A Breazova power plant was commissioned in 1916.

Locomotive building Building of steam locomotives started in

1872 and continued into the middle of the 20th century. Stationary steam boilers and other heavy construction units were also made at Resita works and neighbouring facilities.

Bridges were another product line the works produced from 1870, initially for the SteG railway, but later as commissioned by customers. Eiffel Gustav designed one such bridge over the river Tisza.

By 1867, SteG had built Resita into a major industrial centre by massive investments which continued until 1880 making the town one of the first two steel centres on the Hungarian side of the Hapsburg Austro-Hungarian empire. �

The first Siemens Martin open hearth furnaces were introduced in 1876

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