Enabling the Brazilian steel industry to outrun with maximum efficiency

How does a specialist Brazilian steel producer meet the daunting challenge of manufacturing 20,000 tons of premium-quality steel every month while optimizing efficiency and minimizing downtime?

The solution for Steel Warehouse Cisa (SWC) – a joint partnership between Brazil's Cisa Trading, and U.S. steel service center Steel Warehouse – came in the form of ABB’s motors, which meet stringent and specific quality and reliability demands.

SWC, located in Paulínia, in the interior of São Paulo, processes steel coils to produce high-quality sheet steel for use in applications, such as:

• agricultural machinery
• construction equipment
• mining
• road and rail transportation

Each of these sectors demands high-quality materials for their own manufacturing processes, which in turn places quality demands on SWC as a supplier.

SWC’s process for transforming steel coils into the highest-quality sheet steel is known as temper passing, whereby the source metal is compressed between two rollers. This squeezes out natural imperfections and internal stresses to leave the temper-passed steel flat, elongated, and toughened.

Quality output demands quality production

Producing 20,000 tons of temper-passed steel per month, with uninterrupted, high-precision operation and minimal downtime, requires motor systems of the highest quality.

Our Baldor-Reliance line of severe-duty motors offers the quality and robustness needed to service SWC’s complex temper pass production process from start to finish.

The SWC plant has 35 motors from the RPMAC and VS Master families, which work under mechanical and electrical stresses beyond the operating limits of a conventional motor. 

Some operate with a variable speed drive, to deliver constant torque from zero speed – a feature previously only possible with large DC motors. Our RPM AC motors guarantee reliability and precise torque delivery, as well as space-efficient, simple installation, combined with ease of operation and maintenance.

The motors’ ability to handle extreme demands allows continuous production cycles, while maintenance needs are covered by having eight spare units, which can be put into operation as others are being serviced.

Digitalization makes the most of motors

All the motors in operation at Steel Warehouse Cisa are monitored with the ABB Ability Smart Sensor, which provides precise data and analysis of energy consumption, and of the equipment’s mechanical and electrical condition.

This digital monitoring guarantees a longer service life, optimized performance and energy efficiency, reduced maintenance costs and increased safety in operation. Increased efficiency brings the benefit of reduced CO₂ emissions, thanks to lower energy use.

By using ABB’s advanced motor technology and digital monitoring solutions, Steel Warehouse Cisa has achieved exceptional efficiency and reliability in its production processes. The partnership underscores the importance of innovative technology and its ability to improve the productivity and efficiency of the industry’s critical day-to-day operations.

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