en.Wedoany.com Reported - Ulsan Aluminum's hot finishing mill in Ulsan, South Korea, has completed a comprehensive automation upgrade, a project undertaken and completed by Primetals Technologies. The company recently issued a Final Acceptance Certificate (FAC) to Primetals Technologies, marking the successful conclusion of the project.
Founded in 2017, Ulsan Aluminum is a joint venture between Novelis and Kobe Steel, with an annual production capacity of 400,000 tons, primarily supplying flat-rolled aluminum products to the automotive, beverage can, and specialty markets. Primetals Technologies originally supplied the hot mill to the company in 2013. The mill was installed into an existing hot reversing twin-coiler mill to increase output, supporting the expansion of automotive sheet capacity for the Asian market.
This upgrade project covers basic automation and process optimization systems (Level 1 and Level 2). The automation server has been virtualized, reducing maintenance requirements and enabling rapid expansion of digital services. The process automation system's database has been migrated from Oracle to Microsoft SQL Server, lowering licensing costs and simplifying support. The new Level 2 Human-Machine Interface (HMI) provides better operational guidance and increased transparency; Primetals Technologies' diagnostic plug-ins now enable continuous performance monitoring and quality assurance. As part of the migration, the software has been optimized to meet the latest standards, and the plant now operates with the latest software, enhancing IT security and antivirus protection. Overall, the automation upgrade has stabilized plant operations, improved maintainability, enhanced IT security, reduced operational costs, and prepared the plant for future challenges.
"Their dedication to supporting us during critical situations at our plant further strengthened our confidence in Primetals Technologies as a trusted and reliable partner," said Jihwan Jung, Head of the Hot Rolling Engineering and Automation Team at Ulsan Aluminum. "We believe this experience demonstrates the company's strong reliability and lays an important foundation for our ongoing and strengthened partnership."
To mitigate commissioning risks, Primetals Technologies adopted a shadow mode strategy. This approach allowed the new and old Level 2 models to run in parallel, ensuring model optimization and consistent rolling schedules, with the switchover occurring when conditions were favorable. Following a planned five-day annual shutdown, the mill immediately resumed three-shift production. The first hot-rolled aluminum strip produced met all quality requirements and was ready for sale.
The success of this automation upgrade project has further solidified the partnership between the two companies. Both parties are planning continued collaboration, with a new basic automation project currently being planned in Ulsan.
This article is compiled by Wedoany. All AI citations must indicate the source as "Wedoany". If there is any infringement or other issues, please notify us promptly, and we will modify or delete it accordingly. Email: news@wedoany.com
