...to the to the Summer 2017 issue

of the BMPCA bulletin. We’ve actually

been enjoying some very pleasant

weather over recent weeks - and it’s

good to be able to note that things are

warming up for our steel industry too,

with several companies reporting

fortunes on the upturn in the UK.

Excellent to see too, several of our

members enjoying success and earning plaudits

in overseas markets; Danieli reports the

achievement of a Final Acceptance Certificate

for performance at Gerdau mill in Ontario,

along with a new contract in Turkey for a 1600

tonne scrap shear.

And wherever we look, we see evidence of

our members working hard to secure the

supply chains and capabilities the UK needs for

the future - certainly taking a positive approach

to Brexit.

‘Dieselgate’ continues to rumble on, and

Innoval’s Geoff Scamans explores the issues

with great insight. A good read!

Enjoy the rest of the summer and look

forward to seeing you all at our AGM and

Business Meeting in October.

Welcome

Issue 29 | July 2017

p3p5

p6

www.bmpca.org.uk

p11

Danieli awarded contractwith MKE, Turkey

Thermofisher: Committedto Providing Total Solutions

It’s been a busy productivemonth for IAC

BMPCA visit SKF Bearings

New Directors at IAC’s subsidiary in South Africa...

p3

2

The growth of Liberty Housegroup continues apace with theannounced intention to concludean agreement to acquireScunthorpe based CaparoMerchant Bar from theadministrators of CaparoIndustries, as well as a provisionalagreement to purchase Britain’slargest steel pipe mills, based atHartlepool from Tata Steel. Bothacquisitions will no doubt requireagreement being reached withthe pensions regulators.

Liberty House Group havealso signed a binding agreementto buy the entire operations ofSteel maker Arrium Ltd based inAustralia outbidding a SouthKorean consortium backed by

POSCO. The group plans tomodernize the ageing steelworks,together with Arrium's miningand steel distribution businesses,after it collapsed last yearfollowing a downturn in steel andiron ore markets.

As further evidence of thechange in steel business fortunesCardiff-based Celsa Steel UKgroup of companies has recentlyreported a return to profit in itslatest financial results.

Tata Steel and Thyssen Kruppare still discussing a potentialmerger although recent reportssuggest that the Thyssen Kruppmanagement would prefer to beleft with less than 50% of anyconsolidated company, whereas

the German workers councilfirmly rejected such an idea.

Will there be a reduction inthe demand for iron ore in thecoming years and a move tomore EAF based recycled steelproduction? Reports show thatChina's supply of steel scrap issurging as aged buildings, bridgesand cars produced over decadesof rapid economic growth areknocked down, dismantled orcrushed. Watch this space!

I hope you all enjoy thecurrent issue of the Bulletin andkeep submitting your articles forfuture editions. Happy Holidays.

Message from the Chairman

Association News

Andy Orme Chairman‘‘

‘‘

Please visit us at

www.bmpca.org.uk

The Brexit negotiations have begun at last but so far we are not any

clearer on the target or the final outcome. However the sky has not fallen

down and business confidence continues to show signs of improvement. We still

have to endure the poor exchange rate for our overseas summer holidays but can

temper this knowing the benefit it is giving us for export sales of UK

manufactured goods.

Operating as part of the IAC

Group, Industrial Automation &

Control Ltd. is the UK's largest

independent systems integrator,

is expanding its service and

support team.

IAC is looking for PLC anddrives engineers to be basedwithin a new division inSheffield, providing 24/7technical support at siteswithin the north east andsurrounding areas.

Supported by a dedicated

team in South Wales, extensive

training, a competitive salary

and benefits are offered. The

new roles will suit customer

focussed service / maintenance

engineers from an engineering /

manufacturing environment.

If you are looking for a new

challenge and feel you have the

talent and drive to succeed at

IAC, please contact Kath Lewison 01633 293000 for furtherdetails. Applicants are advised toupload a CV via www.iac-ltd.co.uk/careers

Interested in joining an expanding company? Looking for a new challenge?

The company has been manufacturing onthe site for over a hundred years. Everysingle rotating machine part requires abearing to allow the part to rotate or totransmit a force. In fact, SKF is amanufacturer that keeps the worldmoving.

As part of the visit we enjoyed afactory tour and observed first-hand howthe bearing parts are machined andassembled. Every stage of the process issubject to stringent quality control.

Our members are all involved inmaking plant and equipment in one formor another. Everyone who attended themeeting were very impressed with thevisit.

It was also nice to see a British manufacturer working to full capacity in a market where demand is strong.

3

Members News

On 6th July SKF Bearings at Luton hosted our Business Meeting. The

BMPCA aims to always hold our meetings at interesting and varied

locations; we have recently visited The Imperial War Museum, Ginetta

Cars, Kelham Island Industrial Museum, and Aston Martin to name just

a few. SKF ranked highly amongst these locations as a global

manufacturer of industrial bearings.

BMPCA visits SKF

New Directors at IAC’s subsidiary in South AfricaIAC have appointed newdirectors and restructuredthe management at itssubsidiary panelmanufacturer in SouthAfrica.

Tiprow Controls was boughtby the IAC Group in 2009 afterseveral years of closecooperation. The companyoperates as a supplier of motorcontrol centres and electricalpanels, primarily for the miningindustry in the Southern Africaarea.

The company is now beingrun by Jaco de Waal, who has ahistory of working in the metalsindustry with VAI, Bronx andothers. He is joined by GraceMokalapa who is FinancialDirector, and Lynette Warner,who was previously a directorbefore the takeover.

Jaco de WaalJaco is redirecting sales and

has made an immediate impacton the company structure,bringing the business into linewith the control and ethics ofthe parent company. Tiprow areputting training anddevelopment at the centre oftheir strategic plan andimplementing QA and 5Sprinciples to streamline themanufacturing process andmake the company moreefficient.

Lynette Warner Lynette was asked to re-join

the board to assist in themarketing of Tiprow to themining consultants who makeup the majority of the customerbase for Tiprow. Mining andaggregates in South Africa hashad a difficult time in the pastcouple of years with legislativeand market forces combining toprovide huge issues across thesupply chain.

Grace MokalapaGrace has been brought in to

overhaul the accounts function;her previous experience withaccounting firm Cohen HillFunk has been essential toensure that reporting is broughtinto line after a couple of yearsof poor results.

The new Tiprow directors,along with the IAC board, areconfident that the new regimewill be able to take advantage ofthe improving situation in SouthAfrica and can forward to aprosperous future.

Members News

4

In December 2015 acontract was signedbetween GERDAU andDanieli for the upgrade ofthe non-ferrous scrapseparation system atGerdau’s steel mill inWhitby, Ontario.

This job has been a challenge

from many points of view, given

the performances required from

the plant not limited to the

compliance of the local

standards in terms of safety and

design prescriptions.

Danieli has been selected as

the main supplier responsible for

the overall system design, from

initial conceptual layout to

supply, (either procured and

fabricated), of all equipment

required to achieve the

performance targets required by

Gerdau.

The technology for the new

system allows Gerdau to sort

the ASR and landfilled material

and extract non-ferrous scrap

metal that is not used in the

steelmaking process. The

non-ferrous metals, such as

aluminum, copper and stainless

steel, can be separated from the

scrap steel mix and recycled or

sold to be used in other

manufacturing processes. With

the new plant fully operational,

Gerdau is able to process more

than 40 million pounds of non-

ferrous scrap material annually.

The Whitby mill uses ferrous

scrap steel from end-of-life

vehicles and other sources to be

melted and produced into

merchant bar quality products

and reinforcing steel used in a

variety of applications, including

major commercial buildings,

freeways, bridges, parking

garages and other concrete

structures throughout North

America.

The performance test period

was characterized by the

satisfactory achievement of all

the contractual performance

figures, some of them even over

and above contractual

requirements. GERDAU signed

the Final Acceptance Certificate

on April 27, 2017.

Danieli receives FAC fornon-ferrous separation system at GERDAU, Canada

Successful start-upfor the second scrap shear deliveredin Moldavia

Members News

5

Danieli Centro Recycling has been

awarded a contract with MKE,

Turkey for a 1600 tons scrap shear

with side compression, type CIB

1600-10L.

The shear to be delivered is one of the

heaviest of the range, developing 1600 tons of

cutting force, which gives the machine the

capacity of shearing rounds with diameter of

up to 230 mm or plates with a maximum

thickness of 136 mm.

It is the intention of MKE to utilize the shear

in a 3-shift operation with an average

production of 50 tph. This new contract

follows the installation of similar shears at Izmir

Demir Celik in Aliaga and Toscelik in Osmaniye,

delivered in 2010 and 2012. Besides the

shear-baler, Danieli Centro Recycling has also

supplied on the Turkish territory a

3-compression baler PTC 1640H, installed in

the steel mill of Colakoglu in Kocaeli. Scrap

shears of that range are in operation in a large

number of countries around the world,

including Russia, China, Australia, United

Kingdom and Singapore, where they have

proven their reliability and high availability,

being on recycling yards or in steel mills.

Turkish manufacturer MKEKadds a new 1600 tons scrap shearto its steel plant

With seven scrap yardsoperating across thecountry, Metalferos is theleader in the scrap businessin Moldova for the recyclingof ferrous and non-ferrousmetals. The treated scrap ismainly purchased by MMZsteel plant, the largest steelproducer in the Republic ofBelarus.

The actual volume ofrecycling scrap is about 240 000 tons per year andthey are expecting to

increase production up to 400 000 in the next fewyears. After a first CIV600-8 start-up in September 2016,a second press-wings shear-baler has just beenreceived by a very satisfiedcustomer.

Thermo Fisher Scientific, theglobal leader in scientific andprocess instrumentation, recognisesthis and is committed to helpingcustomers optimise their steelproduction at every critical stage,from incoming raw materials to thefinal coating line. With this in mind,a new corporate capabilitiesbrochure for the steel market isnow available. Titled “OptimizeYour Metals Production Process”it details the company´s extensivecapabilities throughout the entiresteel production process, and howThermo Scientific™ products canhelp customers to improveproduction and product quality atevery stage.

A particular highlight in thebrochure is the “Thermo ScientificSolutions in Steel Production”process map, shown above figure 1,covering the five main processingstages: Raw materials processing,steel making and casting, hot rolling,cold rolling and strip processing.

The map details the breadth ofThermo Scientific products,software and services offered ateach stage of the process andcovers critical functions such aselemental, phase and inclusionanalysis in the melt shop, gas,moisture and air quality analysis,online thickness and coating weightmeasurement in the rolling mill and

managing process and laboratorydata plant wide.

The brochure also details the fullrange of services and supportavailable worldwide to customersonce equipment has been installed.This includes options such asproduct maintenance with multiplelevels of support agreements,education and training to optimisethe use of Thermo Scientificinstruments and expand operatorskills, professional services forprocess review and to meet best-practice goals and anextensive spare parts service andsystem upgrade and enhancementpackages.

Visit our website and take a lookat the new Thermo Fisher Scientificsteel capabilities brochure and seehow Thermo Scientific technologiescan help improve plant efficiencyand product quality, whetherproducing steel from iron ore orscrap and regardless of whetherthe end product is several inch-thick slabs or galvanized sheetless than a millimeter thick. Theproduct line is extensive, processexpertise runs deep and servicesand support will keep your systemsconsistently running at topperformance.

6

Members News

Thermofisher: Committed toProviding Total Solutions

As any steel manufacturer knows, steel production is a 24-hour-a-day,

365-day-a-year process, dependent on a consistent supply of raw materials and huge

amounts of energy. High demand for raw materials and scrap, increasing energy

costs, new production methods and industry consolidation requires steel producers

to develop new methods and adapt the latest technologies to lead the industry,

both commercially and environmentally.

Learn more at: www.thermofisher.com/metals

Figure1. Thermofisherproduction process map

7

Members News

It has become glaringlyapparent, following the VW“Dieselgate” debacle, thatthere is a large and growingdivergence between themeasured CO2 emissions andwhat actually happens whencars are driven on the road.This means that the vehicleOEMs are much further awaythan we all thought fromdelivering CO2 reductionfrom our cars, and that thelegislated requirements for2020 and beyond will bemuch more difficult toachieve if realistic testingbecomes the way ofmeasuring actual CO2vehicle emissions.

The OEMs are however beinggiven wriggle room as, although thenow obsolete NEDC (NewEuropean Drive Cycle) testmethod will be replaced by themore realistic WLTP (Worldwideharmonized Light vehicles TestProcedure) in 2017, the CO2targets will be softened to allowmanufacturers time to cope withthe more demanding actualemission based requirements. Wemay still be many years away fromrealistic vehicle testing andregulation based on thesemeasurements, but they will bothcome and will make life verychallenging for all OEMs unlessthey make their emission reductiontechnologies much more effective.

Emissions reduction wasgoing well…

In terms of historicalperspective, following themandatory CO2 regulation for carsintroduced by the EU themeasured emissions on test fell atabout 1%/year from 2001 to 2008and then improved to an averageof 4%/year after 2008. Everythingapparently looked to be in order asthe average CO2 emissions fromnew cars reached 123 g/km thatwas well ahead of the 130 g/kmlegislated requirement of 2015.

…but then it all changed.This situation has now changed

dramatically as we are now awareof the divergence between themeasured values and the on-roadvehicle performance. This meansthat today vehicles falsely qualify forlower rates of taxation as these

rates have been based upon theemissions data published by the carcompanies, which we now know isunrealistic. Consumers may nowhave to anticipate a hike in tax if‘on the road’ figures are to be used.Furthermore, the average vehicleowner will pay about £400/yearmore in fuel than they thoughtthey would from their car’s datasheet.

It’s a similarly sorry tale for theenvironment. Whilst we havethought that average vehicleemissions reduced by 27% from170 g/km in 2001 to 123 g/km in2014 they actually only fell by 8%from 184 g/km in 2001 to 168g/km in 2014 when actualemissions data is used. Thedivergence issue affects all classesof vehicle, all manufacturers and alldiesel, petrol and hybrid vehicles.More alarmingly, the divergence in

real and test performance is largestfor hybrid vehicles.

Future aluminiumlightweighting challenges

Multiple emission reductiontechnologies have been identifiedbut far and away the mostimportant and effective andrelevant reduction technology isvehicle lightweighting. This CO2reduction technology will get thelargest boost from the newsituation as most of the simplelower cost alternative technologyoptions have already beenexploited. The focus onlightweighting will progressivelyswitch from the body-in-white tochassis and powertrain andaluminium, in most of its productforms, will play an ever-increasingrole in all these types of structures

The body structure of the JaguarF-PACE comprises 80 per cent

aluminium. Additional weightsavings come from the compositetailgate and magnesium for partssuch as the cross-car beam.

Aluminium lightweightingtechnology for body-in-white iswell established, particularly withinJaguar Land Rover, and moremanufacturers will need to switchto aluminium intensive bodies,rather than hang-on parts, torespond to their now urgent andincreased need for weightreduction. This must beaccompanied by the effectivemanagement and recovery of pressshop scrap to make the use ofaluminium automotive sheet moreaffordable. The challenge foraluminium extrusions and forgingswill be to provide alloys with higherstrength without moving to themore expensive aerospace gradesof alloy.

Innoval has been providingexperience-led technical supportto the automotive industry fordecades. Read more about how wesupport aluminium lightweightingprojects on the following pages.

ALUMINIUM LIGHTWEIGHTING OPPORTUNITIES

Learn more at: www.thermofisher.com/metals

by Geoff Scamans

Geoff Scamans is our ChiefScientific Officer. He has 40 years ofexperience in aluminium alloyscience and technology, and he’s aProfessor of Metallurgy at BrunelUniversity.

Divergence of New Car Fuel Efficiency / CO2 between NEDC test and On Road measurements

Jaguar F-PACE

Beyond Dieselgate

ESTABLISHINGA QUALITYMANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Very shortly after the creation ofInnoval in 2003 we decided toestablish a Quality ManagementSystem (QMS). We designed the

scheme to reflect the way wealready worked. However, we alsomade it compliant with therequirements of ISO 9001certification. We call our system theIBMs, or Innoval BusinessManagement system.

Back in 2003 everyone at Innovalused to work at Alcan’s excellentresearch centre in Banbury.Therefore, we were already familiarwith the ‘formal report writingfollowed by review and approval’way of working. Making thetransition to a formalized ISO 9001system really wasn’t such a big step.

The single greatest aid in thewhole process was the creation andongoing development of an

electronic database system. We’reable to access this via our companyIntranet. Our in-house expertisefor software creation has been areally crucial feature in ourdevelopment. Now we have amassive library of records foreverything we have done for all ourclients.

AUDITINGSince the start, LRQA has audited

us. We find the approximate 9-monthly audit cycle (certificaterenewal every 3 years) anappropriate frequency.Furthermore, we feel that theirexternal view and opinions are bothwell-balanced and useful.

HOW WE USE ISO 9001 CERTIFICATION

We use ISO 9001 certification tocontrol the processes we use tomake our products. In our case,that’s our reports. I suppose that iswhere the biggest misconceptionabout quality management systemsarises. A QMS is not specificallyabout putting a ‘badge’ on aproduct. In fact, this is notpermitted. 9001 is about thesystem that produces the product;how is it managed and controlled?How is it reviewed and improved?

8

Members News

HOT MILL ExITTEMPERATURE

The coiling of hot rolledaluminium strip usually happens at atarget temperature related to themetallurgical requirements. The exittemperature of strip from a hot millgenerally increases with roll speed.This means that you can vary thespeed of the final pass to achievethe target temperature.

For example, if the strip entersthe final pass colder thananticipated, you can obtain the samecoiling temperature by using ahigher roll speed.

This is the basis for theinstallation of either pre- or inter-stand strip cooling sprays on hottandem mills. These coolers allowfor increased mill speeds and higheroutput.

INNOVAL ROLLINGMODEL

The Innoval Rolling Model (IRM)is a complete physical description ofan aluminium rolling mill. You canuse it to see the effect of changingroll speeds on exit striptemperature.

It can also model a quenchsystem before and/or after anygiven mill stand. For more complexquench systems the Innoval QuenchModel (IQM) can be used.

The first thing to do is to set upthe physical model without stripcooling. This involves inputtingdetails about the mill and theprocess variables used, Figure 2. The

IRM will then give you acoiling temperature. If all ofthe inputs are correct thisshould match the realworld to within a degreeor two. The example weshall look at here is a fourstand hot tandem mill.

THE MODEL WITHSTRIP COOLING

Once you have set up the model,you can run it again with stripcooling. To do this you will need to

specify the flow intensityabove and below the strip,and the length over which itis applied. The reduction instrip temperature can bevery large. In our example,putting a cooler before thefinal stand drops the striptemperature by around30°C. This means that themetal is harder when itenters the bite because it iscolder. It therefore heats upmore during rolling, and so

the final coil temperature is only25°C lower.

You can increase the roll speeduntil the target end temperature isachieved. The increased speed reduces the cooling but the effect is

still significant. The graph in Figure 3shows the effect on the roll speed of one cooler before the final standor one on all four stands. In eachcase, the target coil temperature isthe same.

STRIP COOLING =FASTER MILL SPEEDS

In this example the productivityimprovement by adding one cooleris around 15%. If there was coolingbefore all four stands, this wouldincrease the productivity by around30%. As this example, and theInnoval Rolling Model illustrates,adding strip cooling to a hot millcan lead to significant gains and arapid return on investment.

If you’d like to know more aboutour rolling model, which is availableto purchase, or the other serviceswe offer to improve millproductivity, please get in touch...www.innovaltec.com/contact/

Productivity benefits of strip cooling

Why ISO 9001 certification is importantwhen you provide a service

Here we use the Innoval Rolling Model to illustrate how the addition of stripcooling to a hot mill can result in large productivity gains.

As a technical consultancy we don’t manufacture products. Instead our products are the reports we send to clientson completion of a project. You might think ISO 9001 certification is not quite as critical for us as it is to a companymaking physical products. However, as I will explain here, it’s just as important.

Figure 1. Coiling of hot mill strip

Figure 2. An input screen from the Innoval Rolling Model

Figure 1. Our QMS is known as theInnoval Business Management System

Figure 3: Rolling speeds to achieve a specific coiltemperature with different amounts of strip cooling

By Timothy Clemson

By Andy Darby

(Figure1. from www.pixabay.com)

9

At Innoval we apply the oft-mentioned ‘Plan-Do-Check-Act’time and time again to help makethe system (the way we do things)more robust.

Every product we create, whichin our case is a report of some typeand format, goes through the same‘life cycle’ process. This culminateswith a final review and approval bysomeone other than the authorbefore being supplied to the client.

HOW DOES ISO 9001CERTIFICATIONBENEFIT OUR CLIENTS?

Quite simply, ISO 9001certification means that at least oneother pair of eyes, in addition to thequalified and highly-skilled persondoing the writing (and mostprobably, performing the associatedwork) will critically review everyreport issued by Innoval. Thisensures a degree of normalisationwith the content and style, forexample, by using our corporatedocumentation. It also means thatthe client’s report benefits from thebroader knowledge and experiencewithin Innoval.

WHAT’S NExT?

ISO 9001:2015 is now thestandard. We are currently certifiedto the 2008 version of the standard.

The new version, in common with agreat number of ISO standards,incorporates an element of riskassessment to drive the continualimprovement of the system.Companies must be able to identifyrisks to the business and put controlmeasures in place.

There is a grace period of 3 yearsto convert to the new ISO 9001certification standard. Exactly howwe achieve this is a work inprogress at the moment. Thankfully,our good friends at LRQA continueto provide us with useful guidanceand support. A later blog post willlet you know how we’ve fared!

IS ISO 9001CERTIFICATION WORTHTHE EFFORT?

To our clients? Without a doubt.Every product is of a high standard

and fully traceable. Furthermore,we have a record of everything wedo (and have done) for every client.This is available for future referenceif required.

For Innoval? Yes again. The rigourof a periodic external audit causesus to keep our systems up-to-dateand maintain the levels ofperformance that might otherwisegradually become comfortable anddegrade over time. The challenge tocontinually improve and to be ableto demonstrate this works for us.

If you want to know more aboutwhat we do, or you’d like furtherinformation about how we set upour Quality Management System,please get in touch...www.innovaltec.com/contact/

A ‘model’, in the engineering sense,can mean different things to differentpeople. You may have noticed that inour suite of process models, there issomething called a Process CostModel. This post will briefly explainhow this type of model can help withmany familiar process engineeringissues.

With Innoval’s Process CostModel, easily identifiable processparameters such as line speed, targettemperature, residence time etc. areinput by the user. The model thencalculates and predicts the resultingoutcomes, simulating the behaviourof the real process as far as possible.

WHY USE A PROCESSCOST MODEL?

Quite simply, the use of suchmodels means that otherwiseexpensive and time-consuming trialscan be carried out without anydisruption to the real productionlines or without jeopardizing veryexpensive equipment and materials;there’s a health and safety benefittoo. ‘What-if ’ scenarios can be safelyexplored and thoroughly tested in avirtual environment.

WHAT COUNTS AS ACOST?

Increasingly these days, financialcosts, e.g., the costs of energysupplies, raw materials, disposal ofwastes and by-products, labour etc.are always under scrutiny. In thesimplest configurations, so-called‘variable’ and ‘fixed’ costs are usuallyincluded. ‘Variable’ being the termused to encompass those costswhich scale with production effort;

‘fixed’ being those that are presenteven at zero production.

There are other costs too; thecosts of finance for example. Manycompanies are required to borrowmoney in order to fund capitalequipment expenditure (CAPEX).Not only does this need to berepaid, but the interest on that loanalso requires servicing.

In more recent times, there areother ‘costs’ that many companiesnow wish to consider too.Environmental impacts are also‘costs’. Consequently, the carbonfootprint of a particular product(expressed in terms of its ‘carbondioxide equivalent’) is often a metricthat is used and reported.

The largest costs in a processsequence are not always obvious andthis is where a process cost model canreally help. For example, aluminiumsheet is often coated with paint orlacquer for a variety of purposes.These coatings traditionally require theuse of a thermal curing cycle. Thismeans the coated metal is passedthrough a large oven to evaporate anysolvent present, and to bring about thechemical and/or physicaltransformation of the coating.

It is perhaps not surprising that,given the large physical size of thesecuring ovens, they are often assumedto be the most expensive parts ofthe process. They do, after all,consume large amounts of electricityand/or natural gas. It was a matter of

some consternation to a client then,when process cost modellingrevealed that it was actually the costof the paints and lacquers that weretheir largest cost items and by quite along way too (Figure 2).

HOW MUCH DO I GETOUT, FOR THEAMOUNTS I PUT IN?

It is often reasonably well knownhow efficient a particular process stepis in terms of mass-in and mass-out.However, where processes are ‘closed’(scrap or by-products are tidilyremoved away automatically andhidden from view), or processes aresequential (as is the case in manycontinuous aluminium sheetprocesses), identification andevaluation of discrete processrecoveries can be more difficult. This iswhere cost models come in. They canassist in the process-by-processrecovery calculations which showwhere significant losses are reallyoccurring. Process improvementactivities can therefore be focused onthe processes which will benefit themost.

BUT WHAT ABOUT THEMATERIAL THAT GETSRECYCLED?

The aluminium industry pridesitself on being good at recycling.Most processes in our industry willgenerate aluminium metal waste orscrap. This could be large pieces suchas the butt ends sawn off cast ingotsor edge trim from rolled sheet, downto chippings and swarf generatedwhen sawing or scalping. Anyprocess model should be capable ofhandling this recyclate or ‘feedback’material, and re-introduce it into theprocess flow scheme at a suitablepoint.

PROCESSES ARE NOTALWAYS STAND-ALONE

As well as being able to useprocess cost models to evaluateprocess capacity, models (andcombinations of models) can be usedto determine not just how many, butwhat size the equipment needs to beto achieve the desired output. Oftenthis type of calculation is necessarybecause the individualinterconnected processes arethemselves a complex series ofsequential operations.

If you think a process cost modelcould be just what you need to safelyand efficiently optimize yourprocesses, please get in touch. We’llwork with you to create a model ofyour processes, allowing as manydifferent parameters as you like to beadjusted and their effects investigated– without affecting real-lifeproduction.www.innovaltec.com/contact/

What can a Process Cost Model do?

Figure 2.The PDCA cycleof continuous improvement

By Andy Darby

Figure 1. Carbonfootprint is oftena metric that isused andreported.

Figure 2. Illustrative Can End Stock ‘top 5’ variablecosts summary (taken from a recentInnoval process cost model study)

Members News

10

Materials Processing Institute

NEW PARTNERSHIPS

2017 marks the firstanniversary of British Steel andthe first anniversary of theInstitute’s long term partnershiparrangement, of which BritishSteel Chairman Roland Junckdescribes himself as ‘extremelyproud’. In the last year, a similarlong term partnership has beenformed with Liberty SteelSpeciality Steels and followinginternational visits fromThyssenKrupp Steel andvoestalpine AG, the widerinternational recognition of theInstitute within the steel industryis growing.

Institute CEO Chris McDonaldbelieves that the organisation’sapproach to managing researchpartnerships is part of this statingthat ‘the Institute runs a numberof research partnerships based onmutual benefit. By managingprojects as a portfolio we candeploy advanced technologymanagement techniques, adaptdynamically to the fast changingnature of business and leverageprivate funding with public money.This adds up to a recipe forsuccess for our industrial clients,who generally see a return of 8:1in their investment in researchwith us.’

A significant focus in the lastyear has been developing newways of working with SMEs andcompanies in the supply chain.The Institute’s SME TechnologyCentre has worked with over 100companies in the last year andhelped support 10 new spin outbusinesses. Increasingly importantas the UK starts the process ofleaving the EU, the Institute isworking with large companies andtheir supply chains to secure thecapabilities that the UK needs forthe future.

NEW FACILITIESNew facilities include a state of

the art scanning electronmicroscope, with a uniquecapability to studymicrostructures at hightemperatures and whilstundergoing stress, ideally forunderstanding the performanceof new and improved alloysduring processing. This focus onalloy development has been takenfurther with the installation of anew 100kg vacuum inductionmelting facility, to complement theexisting extensive pilot scalefacilities.

Investing in facilities extendsbeyond equipment, with arevamped Spenceley Library andArchives, home to the BISRA

process research collection, nowoffering information, intellectualproperty and technologyintelligence services acrossindustry. As a wider service theInstitute now offers freelydownloadable digests ofinternational conferences from itslibrary website.

FUTURE DIRECTIONResearchers are developing

new technologies to helpcompanies adapt to the changingface of manufacturing andautomation, through Industry 4.0,helping adaption to a low carbonworld by supporting thedevelopment of zero carbonmanufacturing through hydrogenand promoting sustainabilitythough the circular economy. TheInstitute has published a numberof papers pointing to newtechnology opportunities and isalways interested in hearing frompotential industrial partners thatwould like to learn more aboutthese areas.

enquiries@mpiuk.comwww.mpiuk.comTel: 01642 382000

Following its return

to independent

ownership in 2014,

the Materials

Processing Institute

has featured heavily

in national and

international media

as it works with and

the steel and

materials industries.

Largely credited with

achieving a real shift in

the national priority for

materials in general, the

Institute supports the

broader sector through

provision of research and

innovation services, as

well as specialist technical

training and high level

consultancy support.

11

Email: sales@iac-ltd.co.uk Tel: 01633 293000 www.iac-ltd.co.uk

What can IAC do for you…

Energyfrom

WastePLC based control system forA Polyvore waste processing unit

MedicalPower Distribution Board forOrthopaedics implant andInstrument manufacturer

MaterialsHandling

Chemical

Heater Control Panels forTwo Polymer Extrusion Lines in South Wales

Pedestal Control stations forA Wagon Tippler in Guinea West Africa

Metals

CCTV Control system and dvr ForAn Inspection Line for Automotive Steel

For further details contact:

R. RuddlestoneDirector BMPCAC/O EEFAdvantage HousePoplar WayCatcliffeRotherham S60 5TR

Tel: 44(0)7753 866127

email: bob.ruddlestone@mpiuk.com

www.bmpca.org.uk Designed & Produced byQ2CREATIVE

www.q2creative.co.uk

BMPCA 2017Meeting & Social Events Calendar

Chesterfield Special CylindersCISDICorewire LtdDanieli LtdIndustrial Automation & Control LtdInnoval Technology LtdMetalock Engineering UK LtdMIIOldham EngineeringPremier HytempRoss ControlsSarclad LtdSiemensSheffield Forgemasters EngineeringThermo Fisher Scientific

BMPCA members

October 5th AGM and Business Meeting

November 16th Annual Lunch at the Painters Hall London