Informacje prasowe
"Metal Bulletin Monthly" September 2005
New cut-to-length service for stainless steel sheet in Poland
In November 2005, Nova Trading – the largest Polish distributor of stainless steel (with 2004 sales of nearly 26,000 tonnes) will open a service centre dedicated to processing stainless steel. With itsnew cut to length line (CTL) the total investment will be 25 million PLN. It is the first investment of this type in Poland, and the facility itself will be the most advanced in Europe.
The CTL line will cut metal coils into sheets of non-standard length. Manufacturers using stainless steel sheets, such as producers of household appliances or equipment for the food and chemical industry, will be able to order sheets of varying lengths according to their needs, which, by minimising waste, will reduce the costs of production. The lead time for non-standard material will also be reduced. Nova Trading will be able to deliver metal sheet with non-standard dimensions within one week, by comparison with the typical delivery time from foreign service centres of about two to four weeks or, in the case of mills, up to two months.
The Service Centre will be near the premises currently operated by Nova Trading in Toruń. The construction of a new 9,500 m2 building has just been started, increasing the company’s warehouse capacity by 65%. This facility should be completed by the end of August. The CTL line will be installed in this new building in September. A renowned Italian company, Fabrica Impianti Macchine Industriali – FIMI - is supplying the equipment.
We believe in quality
In selecting the supplier for the facility, the Managing Board of Nova Trading assessed the requirements to guarantee a final product of the highest quality. FIMI won as it was able to meet the expectations of the most demanding customers.
The CTL line will cut stainless steel coils with a weight of up to 25 tonnes, thickness ranging from 0.4 to 3.0 mm and a width ranging from 400 to 1,600 mm. The maximum speed of operation is 60m/min. The sheets produced will have a length ranging from 400 to 6,000 mm. The smallest size cut will be 400 x 400 mm. The tolerances guaranteed will be ± 0.25 mm.
Straight angles while cutting
The line will have several additional facilities to increase the quality of the final product, including ensuring straight angles while cutting.
Flatness
One of the most important factors determining the quality of the sheets cut is their flatness. To ensure flatness, not only do we need to straighten the stainless steel coil, but we also need to remove internal tension from the material, which is of paramount importance in the later treatment/processing. For instance, details cut by laser off a sheet from which internal tensioning has not been removed become deformed after cutting, or lose their shape during cutting, which makes processing impossible. FIMI, based on years of experience, constructed its own leveller, which ensures that the parameters of the material cut are perfect.
Protecting the surface of the sheet from damage
The quality of the surface of stainless steel sheet is essential for many customers. Any scratches or marks render the material useless for many applications. FIMI’s – CTL for stainless steel has several solutions for protecting the surface of the steel sheet against damage at every stage – from the moment that the sheet is unfolded, through the transportation of stainless steel sheet, right up to its final positioning on the pallet. To reduce the risk of surface demage, FIMI – unlike other producers – changed the technology of coil cutting, removing the so-called ‘loop’ which is seen as the line’s critical point.
The distribution centre – the improvement of logistic solutions
Because of the considerable weight of the coils to be cut, state-of-the-art Demag overhead cranes will be assembled in the new building.
The new warehouse and production facility, combined with the company’s existing warehouses, will create an integrated distribution centre managed with the help of a Computer Warehouse Management System to support logistics. The introduction of material identification with the help of electronic barcode readers will shorten the time for locating and loading products, which in turn will significantly shorten the delivery time to all customers.
