Novelis Korea Limited has placed an order with Siemens VAI Metals Technologies to equip its new aluminum cold rolling mill with automation and drive systems. The plant is a tandem mill which will produce high quality flat strip for the beverage can industry in Yeongju in Korea. The value of the order lies in the double digit million euro range and the mill is scheduled to start production in 2013.

Novelis is planning to construct a tandem mill to increase the capacity of the cold aluminum rolling plant in Yeongju, Korea. Siemens will supply all the electrical engineering and equipment, including the basic automation, the human machine interface equipment and the associated sensor systems. The technological control systems, with integrated gauge, strip tension and flatness control, are an important part of the automation equipment. They are required in order to achieve the extremely tight manufacturing tolerances demanded for the end product.

The scope of supply also includes a Level 2 process computer which will enable the presetting of the stands to be calculated online in advance on the basis of analytical mathematical models. All the drive systems, which include main and ancillary motors, will be powered by three phase current. Siemens will install synchronous main motors for the stands and reels. Sinamics SM150 medium voltage and S120 low voltage converters will be used in the drives. All the systems and components used will be taken from the integrated Siroll ALU solution platform for aluminum cold rolling mills. Siemens will also be responsible for supervising installation work, commissioning and customer training.

The main factor that contributed to Siemens winning the order was the excellent experience gained by the aluminum producer during previous projects. In 2010 Novelis ordered from Siemens the electrical equipment for an almost identical tandem rolling mill in Pindamonhangaba, Brazil. Siemens has also recently been entrusted with expanding the hot aluminum rolling mill in Ulsan in Korea.