• Automation and safety enhancements improve plant availability
• Cutting-edge technological advancements maximize the mill’s production potential
• The project demonstrates tkES’s commitment to high safety and operational efficiency standards

thyssenkrupp Electrical Steel (tkES) has awarded SMS group the contract to upgrade the automation system at its cold rolling mill, boasting a four-high CVC^® design, located in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Originally built by SMS in 1974, this reversing mill specializes in the reduction of strips made from grain-oriented silicon steel (GO Si-Steel). The current modernization initiative aims to advance automation, enhance safety, and integrate highly innovative technological advancements to ensure maximum plant availability. Numerous modern technological features will be available post-upgrade to exploit the plant’s full potential. Scheduled for completion in two phases in 2027, the project emphasizes tkES’s dedication to maintaining high safety and operational efficiency standards.

The project involves upgrading the existing X-Pact^® electrical and automation equipment, originally supplied by SMS. The new system will leverage SMS’s state-of-the-art automation technology, featuring the X-Pact^® Embedded controller and a high-speed EtherCAT I/O system. Additionally, ergonomic control pulpits will replace the existing installations, and the IT infrastructure will be virtualized, thus ensuring high plant availability, safeguarding its lifecycle, and providing independence from hardware and operating systems.

The new automation solution from SMS includes level 1 and model-based level 2 automation systems specific to GO Si-Steel production, along with the X-Pact^® Vision HMI, which offers forward-looking interactions to assure effective operator guidance. This system provides comprehensive tools for system maintenance, diagnostics, and troubleshooting. The master controller coordinates the rolling process and facilitates the exchange of information between various automation systems, including the level 2 system, the safety system, and the level 1 automation functions.

The project is founded on extensive on-site investigations that resulted in the joint development of a plant safety concept and the subsequent implementation of agreed measures. It aims to increase occupational safety not only during ongoing operations but also during maintenance work. 

Through the X-Pact^® Plug & Work integration test, both the original hardware and software for the cold rolling mill are rigorously tested and pre-optimized as a cohesive unit in the test field. SMS’s holistic approach to the digital commissioning of the automation systems, utilizing the plant’s digital twin, allows for final optimizations to be completed before installation. This process ensures exceptional reliability and significantly reduces the time and costs associated with testing, documentation, and commissioning. The safety control functions, which operate independently of machine controls, are also thoroughly tested during the integration phase.

The partnership between tkES and SMS is rooted in a long-standing relationship, marked by successful revamps of the cold rolling mill in 2000 and 2011. Thanks to the X-Pact^® Service contracts for automation, the plant has been continuously optimized over the years in collaboration with the company, and utilizing its relevant operator expertise and resulting in consistently stable performance levels.

Philipp Geisler, Solutions Flat Products at SMS, commented on the collaboration, “Our process knowledge and integrated solutions in design, research and development, and automation, make us the ideal partner for tkES’s modernization goals. Together, we develop tailored solutions for electrical steel production to boost the availability and safety of the reversing cold rolling mill for years to come.”

This project not only underscores the lifecycle approach of SMS’s solutions but also reinforces tkES’s commitment to enhancing safety and establishing operational standards for the efficient production of high-quality end products. The grain-oriented electrical steel (3.1 to 3.5 percent Si) produced by tkES may have its roots in Germany, but its impact is global. Its products are essential for the efficiency and reliability of transmission and distribution networks, ensuring that electrical energy is delivered with minimal losses and maximum sustainability.