Among various projects planned for this year, metallurgic processing plant supplier SMS group says it will continue to promote new installations of small unit modernisation plants for steelmaking and rolling, to supply local construction industry markets with steel.

“Based on our global experience and best practice technology designed for new plants, the SMS group has developed and introduced a concept of ‘performance modules’. Performance modules from the SMS group are various detailed processing plant modernisations and upgrades, each with the objective to improve either one or multiple objectives such as productivity, efficiency, safety and quality,” says SMS group South Africa MD Pieter Bezuidenhout.

“Our equipment enables our customers to enter into new markets with new advanced products. We are currently involved in three processing line projects, which use rolling mill modernisations. The objectives of these projects vary from improving the accuracy and consistency of the production process, to reducing yield losses and production costs, to increasing production efficiencies and producing higher grade material,” explains SMS group key accounts manager Samuel Gounden.

“The radar sensor technology of the modernisations enables clients to handle increased material width for manufacturing steel products,” Bezuidenhout says.

Further, modernisation projects enable clients to change the production process from consecutive to parallel operation of process steps, subsequently increasing productivity significantly, at an even lower conversion cost.

“There is a high demand for better control through automation for safety reasons and yield improvement, therefore, the company plans to implement improved control on maintenance with integrated condition monitoring systems,” Bezuidenhout highlights.

Providing these services for its clients enables SMS group to ensure safety, product quality, and cost- and energy efficiency for its clients.

SMS group invests a substantial amount every year in research and development. “Our latest technology is developed to improve the performance and efficiency of existing equipment and thereby material quality, improving clients’ market positioning. This is the ‘stone-carved’ reality for an existing and well-developed steel industry,” says Gounden.

“The basis of our business is to listen closely to the requirements of clients and to propose value-added solutions accordingly. Especially in modernisation projects, it is necessary to be aware of the existing equipment and challenges, which no one knows better than the clients,” Bezuidenhout concludes.